I Remember

With a new introduction by Olivia Laing, alongside Paul Austers original.

An enduring gem, Joe Brainards I Remember is a literary and artistic cult classic. Brainards method was brilliantly simple: to set down specific memories as they rose to the surface of his consciousness, each beginning with the refrain I remember: I remember that little jerk you give just before you fall asleep. Like falling.

Recollections jokes, confessions, daydreams and memories were carefully, lovingly woven together. They were of family and friends; of movie stars; of early heterosexual fumblings and later gay life. Brainard's pared-back prose dodged both self-pity and judgement of others, and was written with an ear for musical cadence and an extraordinary painters eye. The result is witty, incantatory, profound and wholly captivating.