New York and Alma Mahler

Finally, after a longer delay than I would have liked, I am writing again. I had been bothered for some time about a hole in the narrative that I knew would need filling, but I wasn't sure how to approach it; the gap between Jefferson and Rizzo's parting and Jefferson's arrival in San Francisco.

After reading about Mahler's widow, Alma, and the fact that she died in New York in 1964, the same year that Jefferson arrives in New York, inspiration came and Jefferson is visiting Central Park daily, where he will encounter an Alma-like character.

I am very interested in what is called 'The Alma Problem' in studying Mahler. This is that she edited her diaries and his letters in order to change her role in history. In doing so, she spread misinformation about Mahler and herself which has become 'fact' via the work of Mahler biographers who took Alma Mahler's diaries at face value. This retrospective re-organisation of reality chimes nicely with the main theme my novel.

I was using Google Earth as part of my research, checking distances between Central Park and other New York locations when my wife alerted me that the infamous Google Earth photography car was parked in the next street. This is the vehicle which has a tree of cameras sprouting out of it and is snapping away all our front gardens to make Google Earth even more wondrous and frightening. I rushed out to photograph it, but it had gone. Later, Google Earth crashed on me. Co-incidence..?

Elsewhere, photography thinking continues, and I have nailed the three processes for the three eras of the images I want to make for my proposed exhibition. I talked to Stuart at the Arts Cenre today, and I have a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the exhibition.