three six five start
by Matt Sheret
I have a new project.
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three six five start is a daily exercise in which Matthew Sheret, the author, will post the opening lines of a novel about:
i) a fist-fight between the idea of Pete Doherty and the iconography of Ian Curtis
ii) making a sharp turn left immediately after meeting Amy Lee at the crossroads after midnight
iii) a fictitious young man opening his eyes and his ears
iv) the line drawn between doves ‘There Goes The Fear’ and Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
v) learning there are no ideals to fight for anymore, and coming to terms with being a cell of one
vi) a chat between Hunter S. Thompson, Paul Morley and B. S. Johnson over breakfast at Veselka’s
vii) cyclical regularity
iix) the loving relationship between formative years and popular culture
ix) the annual meeting of a revolving cast of people to listen to a Festive Ten and why they do it
x) the statement “Self mythology is the only truth of the twenty-first century”
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So, with The Polaroid Press dormant for the next month or so and unsure of whether I wanted to repeat that project through 2009, I settled upon a new idea. Part inspired by Paul Morley’s essay for Corey Archangel’s A couple thousand short films about Glen Gould and part inspired by Twitter, the final impetus was AK’s new blog. For the next year I will be posting the opening line (or lines) of an unwritten book. I intend to have fun with this.
Matthew Sheret, pleased as punch, 2009
What a brilliantly strange and original idea. Can’t wait to see how this pans out. That’s four people I’ve inadvertently inspired to start ‘one a day’ style projects now… mad.
Gosh he’s full of himself isnt he?
Hello Mr Sheret, I’m Andy’s girlfriend. Sorry if you think this rather forward of me, but when Andy told me about your take on his little project I immediately thought that I should suggest ‘If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller’ by Italo Calvino.
Good Luck
Esther
Hi Esther!
Nice coincidence there – I chose to quote Calvino for the first entry because the broken nature of the book (frustrating as I find it, for reasons many and varied) seemed to reflect what I think might be the broken, bitty nature of the project by the end. We’ll see!
Thanks for the shout anyway, hope you’re well.