You can often get a fair idea of what a book is like by glancing at the Library of Congress categorizations on the copyright page. In I Remember, a book by the late great artist Joe Brainard, these categories include:
*Childhood and youth
*United States—social life and customs 1945-1970
*Authors
*Biography
*Memory
I Remember isn’t a book in any recognizable sense of the word, though it does come printed on pages and bound with a matte cover. It is composed entirely of sentences that begin with the words “I remember” and form, within those constraints, an appreciable narrative. Excerpt:
I remember “Any little kid could do that”
I remember “Well it may be good but I just don’t understand it.”
I remember “I like the colors.”
I remember “You couldn’t give it to me.”
I remember Bermuda shorts and knee-length socks.
I remember the first time I saw myself in a full-length mirror in Bermuda shorts. I never wore them again.
And so on. Those familiar with Brainard’s work will dig the obtuse (but personal) entry into his thought processes. Those unfamiliar with Brainard’s work will dig it for what it is: a sweet, gnomic account of days long gone.
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