After several failed attempts, Jack Kerouac began and completed his masterpiece "On the Road" in close to one marathon-sized sitting. He worked at such a feverish pace that rather than take the time to reload his typewriter, he taped many sheets of paper together, top to bottom, so that the paper would feed continuously. Such was the rate of his inspiration. Upon hearing about this method Truman Capote said of it, "That's not writing. That's typing".
This very aesthetic is the basis for the solo viola piece Journal. Four movements written very quickly; capturing a mood, an emotion, a sentiment; not as a novelist would do with 'visions and revisions', but rather as one races to capture immediate feelings in a diary. Many times, this style of writing is infinitely more telling.
The work is dedicated to Meghan Birmingham, who championed it at its first performances.
Performance history:
10/96 - Miller Theatre, New York City.
11/96 - Paul Hall, The Juilliard School, New York City.
11/96 - Morse Hall, The Juilliard School, New York City.
To List of Works