In 2002, Doug Nufer wrote a story narrated by a tout, who proposed a novel way to beat the races. It was so absurd and ludicrous it gave him an idea. So Nufer went to Emerald Downs, home of thoroughbred racing in the Northwest. There, he split himself into three characters modeled on the heteronyms of Fernando Pessoa. Using a money management plan from a James Kelman short story, Nufer gave these characters money and set them free to gamble. He returned to the track every week for a full season, and his characters/heteronyms continued to bet, with real money and in the name of art. At the end of the season, he had pages of data in the form of a wagering diary, the outcome of a literary experiment that formed the basis of a literal experimental novel.
This title is released as a second edition, in both open access and print editions, as part of the punctum Special Collections project.
About the First Edition
- Gerg Bem, Review of Doug Nufer, By Kelman Out of Pessoa, Rain Taxi, Fall 2011.
- Jim Feast, “Sui Generis,” The Brooklyn Rail, February 2012.
- Joe Milazzo, Review of Doug Nufer, By Kelman Out of Pessoa, Giant Reader, January 7, 2013.