Curious, the Book of Changes links two individuals even totally apart: Eric Mottram through John Cage and the Beat Generation's influence, and yours-truly through the ex-Vietnam hippies in Madrid...

40 Guernsey Grove, London SE24 9DE
March 26, 1991

Dear Wignesan,

Back from a few splendid days in Tenby [home of Prof. Howard Daniels, EM's colleague at the Institute of United States Studies] - warm enough to sit out and read/bask in the sunshine, and to walk in the Spring woods. And seasonable enough to eat mussels fresh from the rocks.

But "duty calls" ... The I Ching book I mentioned to you is The Portable Dragon [underlined] by R.G.H. Siu -- subtitled "The Western Man's Guide to the I Ching" - MIT Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1965 - paperback 1971 - third printing 1973, which is the one I have. Dr. Siu's method of interpretation is to use passages (700) by ancient and modern writers, Eastern and Western (650). So that in itself the book is a pretty wide-ranging anthology (Including index – 463 pages). Apart from the Wollheim, the other two useful – at least, for me – editions are

1. I Ching : Book of Changes – translated James Legge, edited with introduction and study guide Chin Chai ...[?], Bantam Books paperback 1969 – 3rd printing (the one I have – previously published by University Books, New York.

2. Same title – translated and edited by John Blofeld – Allen & Unwin 1965, Dutton paperback New York, 1968.

I also said I would check the I Ching usages of the American composer John Cage. In fact, his usages are many, from the beginning of his career to his most recent works – one of the pieces is actually called [the] Changes [underlined]. You can find him as his music on the sleeve-notes of his records, and in his many writings – especially Silence [underlined], Wesleyan University Press, Connecticut, 1961, and in John Cage [underlined], a collection of his writings edited by Richard Kastelantz, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1970 – RK was incidentally, a student of mine – briefly.

I have not had time to check sales of the Revue [underlined : EM here refers to my Journal of Comparative Poietics ] yet, or get a Copy of the Beats Pack [underlined] – having been away, and will be away again until April 3. Nor have I been into King’s College to collect mail. So I will get to all that – including the anthology [EM here refers to the Fire Readings anthology that I roped him into as the final selector – though this rôle of his was not respected by neither Richard Hallward nor David Applefield, sad to say, even if his preface was retained. Besides, my own final proof-reading was not followed dutifully by the page-setter – an utter blunder.] , etc. at the beginning of April.

This year’s Paris visit was at least as pleasant as last year’s [Feb. 1990 at my invitation and 1991 at Jacques Darras and the British Council’s for a one-lecture stint] – and in some ways more so: your dinner party [at my place in Fresnes-94 with EM as the guest-of-honour included George Whitman, Gérard Sekoto, the South-African painter, Richard Hallward, David Applefield and the whole host of the girls hanging out at Shakespeare & Co., one time or another (I'm exaggerating, of course) : no-one congratulated me on my cooking, but there was nothing left even to feed stray cats… I might bravely say.], and the trip to François Premier’s palais [underlined, happened to be the Palace at Fontainbleau to which I drove EM and back], in particular.

My sincere thanks for your generous expenditure of time, energy, good humour and loot !

Best wishes -
Eric.

(c) T. Wignesan - Paris, 1991-2023