I’m a big Beckett’s fan and I appreciate this effort very much. Thank you.

- Katia Tabeshaw Rojas

It says a lot about Beckett’s compassion, something many people assume he lacked.

After thinking about what you wrote I realized what you were saying about the difficulty in describing the tangible affect he had on your life. I realized because you turned the question back to me and I had trouble answering it.

You asked who has affected me and I would have to say Gao Xingjian the Chinese Nobel prize winning author of “Soul Mountain” and “One Man’s Bible.” His writing breaks all the rules buts still sticks to the gut. He was a victim of Mao and in exile he delved into the self, his writing takes me on that journey. I love how he plays with pronouns and with genres. Most of all I’m moved by the connection I feel to him. I’m moved by the fact that we couldn’t be more different as people but I still feel some direct link to him – some link to his humanity.

It’s funny, I was googling Mr. Xingjian tonight just to see what he is up to and I came across info that mentioned his major influence as Samuel Beckett. He has even translated Beckett into Chinese. It’s cool how things connect.

It is a marvelous recording of Cascando as captured from the late night

show “Brave New Waves” on CBC probably 20 years ago. There was

no credit to the particular recording, so I have no way of knowing what it

is (hence why I did not post it).

A low-quality version can be found at http://mysite.verizon.net/scottralph/Cascando.mp3

I would be happy to send you a copy of the high quality MP3, if you find you like it.

If you have heard several of the “silly” renditions, as have I — renditions surely

departing from the intended depiction, this recording will seem like a breath

of fresh air (IMO).

When I first heard this, I was living is a terrible basement apartment in Vancouver, BC, while in

graduate school. My roommate and I rigged up an analog oscilloscope to run off of the stereo output

(left channel being the vertical signal, and right channel being the horizontal), and dimmed the lights

and played this recording with the aid of several glasses of wine. The effect was

truly magical! The instruments and vocals made some truly lovely patterns.

I know your sorrow and I know that for the likes of us there is no ease for the heart to be had from words or reason and that in the very assurance of sorrow’s fading there is more sorrow. So I offer you only my deeply affecctionate and compassionate thoughts and wish for you only the strang thing that may never fail you, whatever it is, that gives us the strength to live on and on with our wounds.

Also, it would be cool to hear something more personal about Beckett’s impact on you; that’s the beauty of blogs you can let it all out and I won’t look at you funny in the morning.

From the show I learned he had the rigor you speak of – for is art. But listening to Mr. Seaver, we also learn that Mr. Beckett was very chill, very relaxed about his art. He was like “what do you think about the word clothed instead of dressed?

That’s the best thing I learned about Beckett, he isn’t anal. Being anal or uptight isn’t worth it – even to the rigoress Samuel Beckett – especially to the rigoress Beckett!

I went to Dublin specifically to celebrate Beckett’s centenary. There were plays, events, and great symposium at Trinity College. A week ago last Thursday, on his birthday, I bought an atlas of Dublin and took the train from Dublin to Killiney, from there I walked to “Cooldrinagh”, Beckett’s childhood home and birthplace. It was originally in a semi-rural setting, but it’s now a fashionable and expensive suburb, still called Foxrock. The house is currently surrounded by high fences and security cameras–a private residence and not much to see. But I could barely make out the 2nd floor room with bow windows where Samuel Beckett was (likely) conceived and born–see “Company”. There was no one else about and no commemorations of any sort. It contrasted nicely with the multitude of celebrations in Dublin, and though I was disappointed, it was probably fitting.