Green Eyes [The Jealous Kind]

Two things that I want, but may not be able to get [at least not right away]:

Salman Rushdie is giving a lecture at Emory [where he is an Artist in Residence for the next five years] on "Autobiography and the Novel." This is a ripe field of interest for me, and this topic is perfect for Rushdie, in particular. It is probably a 12 hour round trip to go to Atlanta--maybe a little less--but Rushdie is one of my favorite novelists, and is certainly my second favorite novelist. I tell all of my friends that I have no doubt that Rushdie will win the Nobel in the next 15 to 20 years.

Here is what he has written about this lecture:

"This lecture will be an examination of how the lives of writers intertwine with their work, and in what ways, if at all, the life can be said to be the best explanation of that work. People nowadays assume that all fiction is somehow autobiographically inspired. And of course, life and experience have always contributed to art. But the fictionalitity of fiction is what makes it worthwhile."

The biggest problem is that the date of the lecture is the Sunday before the first exams of this semester. And I don't know if it is reasonable--or even feasible--to go to this. But missing it would seem like missing the opportunity of a lifetime.

The other thing I am wanting, desperately, right now is this book by E. E. Cummings. As an amateur and budding collector of Cummings material, I was astonished to find out that this had slipped past my radar. It was published as a limited print of 500. This one, in particular, is signed by Cummings. It is also $650. There are some cheaper ones available [unsigned], but I am wondering if it is worth the plunge to buy this one.

But, then again, when will I ever have $650 to throw around?