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Polaroids from the Dead

January 08, 2023

Polaroids from the Dead is a collection of short stories and essays by Douglas Coupland. The theme is that each story is written from a collection of old Polaroid photographs that Coupland found in a drawer. It is an attempt to describe the 1990s, a decade that "seemed to be living in a 1980s hangover". Topics of the stories include a Grateful Dead concert (source of "The Dead" in title), a post-mortem letter to Kurt Cobain, Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge, and an homage to James Rosenquist's painting F-111. The book's ends with a longer essay on Brentwood, California, home to Marilyn Monroe's grave, and the O. J. Simpson murder case. The essay is in part a collage of menus, scraps of conversation, and postings from bulletin boards.

Polaroids from the Dead
First edition
AuthorDouglas Coupland
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins Canada
Publication date
1996
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages198
Preceded byMicroserfs 
Followed byGirlfriend in a Coma 

Synopsis

The book is split into three parts. The first part is Polaroids from the Dead, which is a collection of short stories inspired by a series of Grateful Dead concerts. The second is Portraits of People and Places, which is a collection of essays about people and places, including a letter to Kurt Cobain and a discussion of the Lions Gate Bridge. The last part is called “Brentwood Notebook” and is a discussion of Brentwood, California, a suburb of Los Angelus. It is also where Marilyn Monroe died, and where Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered.

Part One: Polaroids from the Dead

The first part contains ten fictional stories. They have titles like “The 1960s Are Disneyland”, and "T or F: Self-Perfection Is Attainable Within Your Lifetime." The stories focus on both young and old characters and their experiences with Grateful Dead concerts. Interspersed within the text are large, full-page images of the Polaroids that inspired the story. Other images include a picture of Sharon Tate and Charles Manson, in reference to their mention in a story. This section was originally published in a slightly different form in Spin Magazine, in April 1992.

List of Chapters
1. The 1960s Are Disneyland
2. You Are Afraid of the Smell of Shit
3. You are Exhausted by Risk
4. T or F: Self-Perfection Is Attainable Within Your Lifetime
5. Tinkering with Oblivion Carries Risks
6. You Don’t Own Your Body
7. You Fear Involuntary Sedation
8. You Can’t Remember What you Chose to Forget
9. Technology Will Spare Us the Tedium of Repeating history
10. How Clear Is Your Vision of Heaven?

Part Two: Portraits of People and Places

This section includes multiple essays and letters on a variety of topics. This section is nonfiction, excluding the last story. Some essays are recollections of places and events in Coupland's life, such as an article on the Lions Gate Bridge,[1] or a story about a visiting German reporter. Some are told as postcard recollections of places Coupland has visited. Others are essays about people, such as a letter to Kurt Cobain. The last piece is a collection of microstories about the 1992 American election's Super Tuesday. Many of these essays were published in other publications, such as Spin, Vancouver Magazine, Tempo, Artforum, and The New Republic. The essays appeared in slightly different forms.

List of Chapters
11. Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, B.C., Canada: Originally published in Vancouver Magazine under the name “This Bridge Is Ours”
12. The German Reporter: Originally published in Tempo
13. Postcard from the Former East Berlin (Circus Envy)
14. Letter to Kurt Cobain: Originally published in The Washington Post
15. Harolding in West Vancouver: Originally published in The New Republic in February 1994
16. Two Postcards from the Bahamas.
17. Postcard from Palo Alto: Originally published in The New Republic in May 1994.
18. James Rosenquist’s F-111 (F-One Eleven): Originally published in Artforum in April 1994.
19. Postcard from Los Almos (Acid Canyon) : Originally published in The New Republic in May 1994.
20. Washington, D.C.: Four Microstories, Super Tuesday 1992

Part Three: Brentwood Notebook

This part is a long extended essay discussing Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. The essay is broken down into a chronological time periods, spanning a day from Morning, to Afternoon to Late Afternoon. The essay follows Brentwood from its inception to its notoriety with the death of Marilyn Monroe and the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. It also discusses the idea of post-fame, when fame becomes a liability to the famous. The essay incorporates information off billboards and menus into its text, including interesting historical documents as well. Portions of Brentwood Notebook was published in The New Republic in December 1994.

Inspiration

Coupland discusses his influences in writing this book in the introduction called “Kitchen Drawer Filled with Photos”. He discusses the stories from the past that he collected in this book. The stories in the Polaroids section were experienced at a series of Grateful Dead concerts in December 1991. Jerry Garcia had already died when the book was published in 1996.

“This book is mainly an examination of people and places I found fascinating (for whatever reasons we develop fascinations) during” the period from 1991 to 1994.

— Coupland on Polaroids focus[2]

The Super Tuesday stories were researched by Coupland during the Super Tuesday primaries in 1992.

The Brentwood Notebook was written in 1994 over the course of one day on the thirty-second anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's death. It was also months after the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. It was to be written a year before in a style like the Palo Alto article, but Coupland lacked a hook for the story.

References

  1. ^ Lord, M. G. (21 July 1996). "Slouching Toward Brentwood". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Coupland, Douglas. ‘Polaroids from the Dead’”, HarperCollins, 1997.
  • http://www.spikemagazine.com/1296coup.php

January 08, 2023
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Polaroids from the Dead is a collection of short stories and essays by Douglas Coupland The theme is that each story is written from a collection of old Polaroid photographs that Coupland found in a drawer It is an attempt to describe the 1990s a decade that seemed to be living in a 1980s hangover Topics of the stories include a Grateful Dead concert source of The Dead in title a post mortem letter to Kurt Cobain Vancouver s Lions Gate Bridge and an homage to James Rosenquist s painting F 111 The book s ends with a longer essay on Brentwood California home to Marilyn Monroe s grave and the O J Simpson murder case The essay is in part a collage of menus scraps of conversation and postings from bulletin boards Polaroids from the DeadFirst editionAuthorDouglas CouplandCountryCanadaLanguageEnglishPublisherHarperCollins CanadaPublication date1996Media typePrint hardback amp paperback Pages198Preceded byMicroserfs Followed byGirlfriend in a Coma Contents 1 Synopsis 1 1 Part One Polaroids from the Dead 1 2 Part Two Portraits of People and Places 1 3 Part Three Brentwood Notebook 2 Inspiration 3 ReferencesSynopsis EditThe book is split into three parts The first part is Polaroids from the Dead which is a collection of short stories inspired by a series of Grateful Dead concerts The second is Portraits of People and Places which is a collection of essays about people and places including a letter to Kurt Cobain and a discussion of the Lions Gate Bridge The last part is called Brentwood Notebook and is a discussion of Brentwood California a suburb of Los Angelus It is also where Marilyn Monroe died and where Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered Part One Polaroids from the Dead Edit The first part contains ten fictional stories They have titles like The 1960s Are Disneyland and T or F Self Perfection Is Attainable Within Your Lifetime The stories focus on both young and old characters and their experiences with Grateful Dead concerts Interspersed within the text are large full page images of the Polaroids that inspired the story Other images include a picture of Sharon Tate and Charles Manson in reference to their mention in a story This section was originally published in a slightly different form in Spin Magazine in April 1992 List of Chapters1 The 1960s Are Disneyland 2 You Are Afraid of the Smell of Shit 3 You are Exhausted by Risk 4 T or F Self Perfection Is Attainable Within Your Lifetime 5 Tinkering with Oblivion Carries Risks 6 You Don t Own Your Body 7 You Fear Involuntary Sedation 8 You Can t Remember What you Chose to Forget 9 Technology Will Spare Us the Tedium of Repeating history 10 How Clear Is Your Vision of Heaven Part Two Portraits of People and Places Edit This section includes multiple essays and letters on a variety of topics This section is nonfiction excluding the last story Some essays are recollections of places and events in Coupland s life such as an article on the Lions Gate Bridge 1 or a story about a visiting German reporter Some are told as postcard recollections of places Coupland has visited Others are essays about people such as a letter to Kurt Cobain The last piece is a collection of microstories about the 1992 American election s Super Tuesday Many of these essays were published in other publications such as Spin Vancouver Magazine Tempo Artforum and The New Republic The essays appeared in slightly different forms List of Chapters11 Lions Gate Bridge Vancouver B C Canada Originally published in Vancouver Magazine under the name This Bridge Is Ours 12 The German Reporter Originally published in Tempo 13 Postcard from the Former East Berlin Circus Envy 14 Letter to Kurt Cobain Originally published in The Washington Post 15 Harolding in West Vancouver Originally published in The New Republic in February 1994 16 Two Postcards from the Bahamas 17 Postcard from Palo Alto Originally published in The New Republic in May 1994 18 James Rosenquist s F 111 F One Eleven Originally published in Artforum in April 1994 19 Postcard from Los Almos Acid Canyon Originally published in The New Republic in May 1994 20 Washington D C Four Microstories Super Tuesday 1992Part Three Brentwood Notebook Edit This part is a long extended essay discussing Brentwood Los Angeles California The essay is broken down into a chronological time periods spanning a day from Morning to Afternoon to Late Afternoon The essay follows Brentwood from its inception to its notoriety with the death of Marilyn Monroe and the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman It also discusses the idea of post fame when fame becomes a liability to the famous The essay incorporates information off billboards and menus into its text including interesting historical documents as well Portions of Brentwood Notebook was published in The New Republic in December 1994 Inspiration EditCoupland discusses his influences in writing this book in the introduction called Kitchen Drawer Filled with Photos He discusses the stories from the past that he collected in this book The stories in the Polaroids section were experienced at a series of Grateful Dead concerts in December 1991 Jerry Garcia had already died when the book was published in 1996 This book is mainly an examination of people and places I found fascinating for whatever reasons we develop fascinations during the period from 1991 to 1994 Coupland on Polaroids focus 2 The Super Tuesday stories were researched by Coupland during the Super Tuesday primaries in 1992 The Brentwood Notebook was written in 1994 over the course of one day on the thirty second anniversary of Marilyn Monroe s death It was also months after the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman It was to be written a year before in a style like the Palo Alto article but Coupland lacked a hook for the story References Edit Lord M G 21 July 1996 Slouching Toward Brentwood The New York Times Coupland Douglas Polaroids from the Dead HarperCollins 1997 http www spikemagazine com 1296coup php Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Polaroids from the Dead amp oldid 1078245731, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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