14 April 2004. Back from a nice trip to Miami with Geof Huth. We visited Ruth and Marvin Sackner, then Carlos and Martha Luis. Had a great time with both couples. Besides getting a chance to resee old favorites, and see some of the new things the Sackners have picked up for their archive since I was last there, I got to see Scooter Jews, a very funny video short that one of the Sackners's grandsons made with a friend for a high school school course (I believe) and for an upcoming student competition, a video of the performance of an oratorio (or opera excerpt) by another Sackner grandson, this one only 11; and a full-length documentary one the the Sackners' two daughters made of the the Sackners and their archive, which does an excellent job of capturing the enthusiasm, knowledge and likability of Ruth and Marvin, and the breadth, depth, yow and humor of their amazing collection of litragraphical books and artworks.

The latter part of the evening, Geof and I had dinner (which consisted of all kinds of good things including some kind of combination of chicken and rice I'm not culinary enough to say anything more about that that it was delicious, but also fried plantains that Geof loved but I didn't--even though I politely ate one of the two I was served and only said one bad thing about despite whatever Geof is no doubt saying at his blog as I write this) at Carlos and Martha Luis's home, and got to enjoy yet more first-rate paintings, most of them by xome of the many Cuban painters the Luises know. Carlos showed us a lot of his new works, too, including a gorgeous bunch of pieces of illumagery (a term of mine for visual art I've decided to revive simply because I, if no one else, like its sound) using tearings of Finnegans Wake. It was inspired by a Cage work in which Cage composed a passage to represent every sound mentioned in Joyce's work. An opera, I think. I can't remember the details, even though I think Carlos has now told me about it twice. Anyway, Geof and I came away with an original work apiece of Carlos's. We each left him with publications of our presses. (I'd also dropped off the latest Runaway Spoon Press title with Marvin, who insisted on paying for them--as has has been paying for all my press's output since I began it; I no longer feel like he ought to, considering how much he and Ruth have done for the cause, but I never turn down money.)

We spent the night at the Terrace Inn in Coral Gables--$80 for a double, and what would have been a nice breakfast except that some lady got to the bagels just before we did and made off with seven of them.

Geof got me back home by noon. We hardly argued once about terminology during the whole trip though we spent 90% of our time together in Geof's van talking about litragraphy and litragraphers. I would be remiss if I failed to note, however, that more than one sneer was emitted by each traveller at some of the other's remarks and terminology.

For a probably much more detailed and almost certainly more entertaining report of the trip, go to Geof's blog.