Wally the K. (hope you're safe and well, Wally!) wrote: "some of you may have heard of a novel called ''hopscotch'' [original title: ''rayuela''] by argentine writer julio cortazar. in another novel, ''libro de manuel'' [''manuel's book''] cortazar not only mentions joni mitchell several times, but he also writes a whole poem dedicated to her. julio cortazar is quite a heavy weight in international literature, so this was a major tribute to joni. the novel is very hard to get, and i had to burn my copy when the military took over and searched houses to fond ''subversive'' literature [don quijote de la mancha, for example]. but if whoever finds the book, maybe in spain or mexico, that person will find a lost gem. i remember that the main character in ''libro de manuel'' was eagerly awaiting the release of a joni mitchell album in paris [because of dates and stuff, i assume it was ''blue'']. his left-wing comrades made lots of fun of him because he was a Marxist that loved ''american'' music. later in the book, the poem to joni mitchell begins ''joni mitchell, american baby...'' i thought you might like to know this bit of trivia."
Wally: I remember _Libro de Manuel_ being sold on the streets of Madrid, Spain when I lived there in the early 80's, unless my memory is playing serious tricks on me. Those book stands were just wonderful: you could buy an entire collection of "serious" literature on the street, if you wanted to. I now wish I had picked up a copy of _Libro de Manuel_ when I could have! But "Joni Mitchell, American baby?" Wonder how Joni would like that? Of course, in Spanish, a citizen of the United States of America is a "norteamericano(a)," thus magically erasing the boundaries of the United States with Canada--not to mention the boundaries of the United States with Mexico! You know, that's always bugged the hell out of me. What the heck is wrong with "estadounidense"?! My 3 cents for the day, Mary P. Madison ". . .with time on my hands. . ." ;-)
