Vollmann's Imperial
Willam Vollmann's next book, Imperial, is a 1,300 page nonfiction account of California's Imperial County, and a history of the US/Mexican border. I'm almost done with the 3,500 page Rising Up and Rising Down (which I've been reading off and on since late 2003), but I might have to take a Vollmann breather before even considering this one. (thx, mark b.)
<<< The mathematics of Olympic scoring Koyaanisqatsi on Hulu >>>
Ooh. According to what I've read, Imperial County might be important in the near future, at least in SoCal, because they have more water than they need.
Really? I always figured they were all dry out there.
Well, the Salton Sea is a lot of water, but I don't think it's very usable water.
But it's also true that several rivers run through Imperial County. (I read an advance segment of Imperial, and Vollmann explores a river that turns into a tunnel system on the Mexican side.) So there's water, but it's no Owens Valley.
One of those rivers, by the way, is the Colorado River, although I have no idea how much water is left in it by the time it gets to Imperial, since Nevada, Arizona, and other parts of California have earlier access.
must have some. the county includes much of a pretty, international green spot delineated by the colorado on the east & some little river comin down from the salton sea on the west
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=imperial+county,+ca&ie=...
If I remember right, and there's no guarantee that I do, the surplus stems from a multi-state water-sharing deal and their relative lack of population to drink it, not their natural resources.
I once canoed down the stretch of the Colorado that you're talking about, as a Girl Scout. (We ended up in Yuma.) It was actually pretty impressively sized by Southern California standards. Of course, that was more than a decade ago.
Anyway, if cmonk tells me William Vollmann is an interesting enough read to be suitable for bedtime, I will give it a shot.
I have 300-400 pages of this book in manuscript over the years and it is a big beautiful book.
I discuss it briefly in my forthcoming study of Vollmann which will be out early 2009 from McFarland.
Thanks for the info, Michael -- do the pages you have include Vollmann's photographs?
Also, a shout out for the Vollmann compilation you co-edited.
I meant "I have read." I have not seen any photos but there are some included in EXPELLED FROM EDEN, with the essay "The New River" that is from IMPERIAL.
Sections from IMPERIAL have appeared in PLAYBOY, HARPER's, and THE PACIFIC REVIEW 2004. For true Vollmannn fans, AGNI 33 has an erotic tale by him from a collection of love stories he has been working on.
Ah yes, I remember reading the bit in Expelled from Eden.
Post new comment