The Story of Junk (37 page)

THE STORY OF JUNK

This isn't the book Honey thought I would write. It isn't a story I ever planned to tell. In a way, it was told to me, by all my friends and customers. I owe them. Like Sticky said, drug addicts are the best people I ever knew. I want Dick to know the same thing. I don't want him ever to ask again how “nice” people like me get into this nasty business. It's not because our lives have been so tragic, or so lonely, though that might be the case. And it's not because our parents didn't love us, though that might be the case. It's not because of any personal failures or unmet expectations, though you could count on all of it to play a part. And it's not because some of us died too young, even if it's true. It's not even because we like heroin—that's just a song and dance. There's no way to excuse or explain it. The whole story of junk is a song and dance. Everyone's got a story to tell, and most of those stories will change in some way, every time they're told. Not this one, not the story of junk. This one's always the same.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to acknowledge my considerable debt to those constant friends and unexpected guardian angels who kept their homes, hearts, pocketbooks, and my eyes open during the process of writing this book. For the unwitting and generous conspiracy they formed to see me through it, I am deeply, deeply grateful:

To my dear Robbie Goolrick, like whom there is no other, whose close friendship and many kindnesses have been such that my being a yankee (or a Yankee fan) will never be the same; to the wonderful Judy Auchincloss, whose delight in all things has given our human comedy noble refreshment; to Ira Silverberg, who has seen me through many a dark night and blank page; to Clarissa Dalrymple, a worldly and genuine muse, who introduced me to much of my best material; to Annie Philbin, for her understanding and unqualified support; to Mary Heilmann and Ann Rower, for being there in a pinch; to Nan Goldin, without whose encouragement I may never have made a beginning, and to Lynne Tillman, for propelling me toward the end; to my editor, Elisabeth Sifton, who knew I could write this story before I did and has been my steady compass on the circuitous journey through it; to Edward Hibbert, for his tireless efforts on my behalf; and to sweet Chris Schiavo, whose selfless dedication to my cause made this truly a labor of love.

I would also like to thank the MacDowell Colony and the Corporation of Yaddo for giving me such grand places to work, and American Pen and Change, Inc., for helping to keep a roof over my head.

I can't say enough about the essential contributions made by my best critics and readers, Brooks Adams, and Lisa Liebmann, while Rob Wynne, Charles Ruas, Keith Sonnier, Billy Sullivan, Klaus Kertess, Jane Dickson, Patty Smyth, Richard Boch, Gary Indiana, and Betsy Sussler uniquely enriched my creative life, not to mention my phone time and my place at the dinner table. I thank Leonard Drindel, Kate Simon, and Adrianne Barone for their help with my research; the forgiving staff of the Drawing Center and Phillip Munson for general assistance; Alexis Ford for donating the computer; Pat Hearn and my friends in the Wooster Group for helping me find my legs; P & J and David Becker for their patience; and all those many more anonymous souls whose stories ultimately gave voice to my own.

New York City

December 1996

About the Author

Since publishing her acclaimed first novel,
The Story of Junk
, in 1997, Linda Yablonsky has enthralled readers with her globetrotting reports from the front lines of the contemporary art world. Her byline has appeared in
Artforum
and
T: The New York Times Style Magazine
online and in print, as well as in the
New York Times
, the
Art Newspaper, W, Elle
, and
Wallpaper
, among many others. From 1991 to 1999 Yablonsky organized and hosted Nightlight Readings and Nightlight for Kids, innovative writers-in-performance series that introduced new work by more than two hundred authors to a broad audience in New York, where she lives. Yablonsky was also the founding producer for MoMA PS1's pioneering Internet radio station, WPS1, and until 2009, senior art critic for Bloomberg News in the United States.

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All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1997 by Linda Yablonsky

Cover design by Mauricio Diaz

ISBN: 978-1-5040-0005-5

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com