Those geo-chronological mini-pages are to help me to organize the book. The date and places are the settings of different stories of one story, story of my life. Alyosha, my son, was born in 1986 -- and we moved from New York to Virginia. I took a job at Hollins College. It's in my resume, you know. I had to take a full-time job teaching theatre; there were two children to support...
This is the beginning of the story. What is the title? Okay, call it "Last Son" -- and I know the end -- 1989, when we moved to Alaska. Why did you leave blessed old state? This is the climax of the story.
I don't know where are my diaries or notes of this time. Lost. I have to reconstruct the past and this is more difficult that predict the future. You have to remember your feelings and thoughts, the pictures, sounds, smells...
Of course it's connected with you-then, the one who is no longer with me, the one who is further from me than you who reads my pages now. And you know that I promised myself to do nonfiction only; not to invent or make up anything. Yes, I have the photos -- even the articles from the papers about me, my shows, my fight for the citizenship. But I have to find the images, which are about me and my life at the time of becoming American...
My fight with the Russian past and my American present was over. Almost over...
I thought about placing my painting into SELF or POV, but I am afraid it could make them "artistic" -- and I wanted the texts to be visual, the writing.
I have to select only the most important moments. 1986? Alyosha was born in Vermont and we moved to Virginia.
There are so many texts in this directory already that the book is about to be very big. Maybe I will break it in several books.
The division in three parts isn't final.
Each place in my stories has it own central symbol. In Roanoke it was the old house I bought.
Yes, I have to leave many other important things outside; maybe they could show up somewhere else, if they are indeed are important. I bought big mansion with now money down -- and it was my first American house. My first house, period. I think it's important to have your own home.
1986 : my son is born. We left New York.
