Running Water ... Rusting Pipes Vol. 1

When we have told Mr. Vladimir that we would like to write what is known in the trade as an "About the Book" page he, at first, did not respond. Then, after some deliberation, he said, "It's all in the book." "Yes, I know it is," I said, "but, let's face it, Mr. Vladimir, you are not a widely known personality. Even a madam nowadays has more right to write a book than has an unpublished author. What we're trying to do is legitimize your right to appear in print." "Well, you may be right," he said. "Still, I cover that too in the book when I say, My apologies for this prose run mad/But I thought it unfair/To deprive life of its share/While leaving records of my birth and death.' However, if you want to write that page, go ahead, I'm not going to stop you." Well, we admire Mr. Vladimir too much to further antagonize him. Not when, among other things, he speaks about the vanity of authors and in the same breath points out that if we keep on harping on "About the Author" there won't be much room left for his picture. So I guess we're not going to write an "About the Book" page.