"Joseph Conrad’s Last Novel (Which Is Comprised Entirely of Face Colors Used in His Previous Novels)" by Molly Brodak

Joseph Conrad’s Last Novel (Which Is Comprised

Entirely of Face Colors Used in His Previous Novels)

Cinnamon, Nut Brown, Yellow, Lemon Yellow,

Fatty Yellow, Shiny Yellow, Healthy Creole White

Which is Never Tanned by its Native Sunshine,

Clear, Twice as Sunbaked as Before, Shabby Gold,

Thinly Blue, Off-Black, of Too Much Swedish Punch,

Cooling Silver, Negrish, White as the Snows of Higuerota,

of Half-Raw Beef, of Rippling Copper, Semi-Translucent,

Waxy, Brick Dusty, of Quivering Leather, of Wet Hair,

Refreshingly Green, Poisonously Green, of Sodden Lead,

Dazzling Like a Ballroom with an Earthen Floor,

Invisibly Coloured, of Horn Powder, of a Hopeless Bird,

Besmeared with Tobacco, Exceedingly Rusted, of Crumbs,

Cigaresque, Betrayingly Pink, of Varied Loathsome Colors.

Source of the text – Molly Brodak, A Little Middle of the Night.  Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2010, p. 57.

TJB: Face book. Amid this garden of delights, it’s hard to be sure if we’re more impressed by Brodak’s loom-work or Conrad’s turns of phrase.