"He was in no place and no place was in him": Edward Dahlberg's autobiographical fictions as an epistemology of sites

Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 ―HE WAS IN NO PLACE AND NO PLACE WAS IN HIM‖: EDWARD DAHLBERG‘S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL FICTIONS AS AN EPISTEMOLOGY OF SITES 1 MARTÍN URDIALES-SHAW Uni e sidad de Vigo [email p o ec ed] Recei ed 31 July 2017 Accep ed 27 No embe 2017 KEYWORDS Edwa d Dahlbe g; au obiog aphical ic ions; si ua edness; spa iali y; ins i u ions; u ban spaces; ake si es; li e a y s yles PALABRAS CLAVE Edwa d Dahlbe g; icción au obiog á ica; condición si uacional; espacialidad; ins i uciones; espacios u banos; luga es a i iciales; es ilos li e a ios ABSTRACT Edwa d Dahlbe g‘s childhood, adolescence and you h, na a i ely ic ionalized in wo ea ly au obiog aphical no els, Bo om Dogs (1930) and Flushing o Cal a y (1932) is ma kedly and ecu en ly in o med by he in luence o u ban si es and ins i u ional spaces. As he a icle discusses, a numbe o hese spaces a e pi o al o he de elopmen o Dahlbe g‘s au obiog aphical cha ac e Lo y, and can be p oduc i ely ead in e ms o he Foucaldian he e o opia, while o he si es, explici ly iden i ied as me opoli an, a e ma ginal o Lo y‘s au obiog aphical na a i e, and ye se e o o eg ound he p o agonis ‘s absence om hem in ele an ways. Finally, o he spaces may epi omize a p edominan ly a i icial na u e, unc ioning as simulac a o expe iences ha Lo y unde goes bu needs o cas ou . D awing on heo e ical ene s ela ed o space, si e and place, as se ou by Foucaul , Baud illa d, Le eb e, and o he s, in his a icle 1 This a icle is pa o he esea ch p ojec ―Li e a u a y globalización: la li e a u a no eame icana desde una pe spec i a ansnacional‖ inanced by he Minis e io de Economía, Indus ia y Compe i i idad (code FFI 2015-66767-P, MINECO/FEDER, EU) and o he Xun a de Galicia ―Rede de Lingua e Li e a u a Inglesa e Iden idade III‖ (code ED431D2017/17). 146 Ma ín U diales-Shaw Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 I will con end ha a si ua ed epis emological app oach is essen ial in ui ully eading Dahlbe g‘s ea ly ic ions, and, ul ima ely, in unde s anding his ques o space in bo h biog aphical and a is ic e ms. RESUMEN La in ancia, adolescencia y ju en ud de Edwa d Dahlbe g, iccionalizada a a és de sus dos emp anas no elas au obiog á icas, Bo om Dogs (1930) y Flushing o Cal a y (1932), es á muy de e minada po la in luencia de en o nos u banos y espacios ins i ucionales. Algunos de es os espacios son esenciales pa a el desa ollo de Lo y, el p o agonis a au obiog á ico de Dahlbe g, y pueden se in e p e ados en cla e de he e o opia Foucaldiana. O os luga es, exp esamen e iden i icados como espacios me opoli anos, ma ginales a la na a i a au obiog á ica cen ada en Lo y, esul an, sin emba go, ex emadamen e signi ica i os pa a sub aya la ausencia del p o agonis a de los mismos. Además, o os en o nos si en pa a enca na condiciones a i iciales, p opo cionando simulac os de i encias que Lo y expe imen a pe o necesi a luego desecha . Pa iendo de nociones eó icas ela i as a los concep os de si io y de espacialidad, desa olladas po Foucaul , Baud illa d y Le eb e, en e o os, el p esen e a ículo p opone un análisis basado en una epis emología de ―si uacionalidad‖ que pe mi a una in e p e ación c í ica uc í e a de la ob a iniciá ica de Dahlbe g, y, en conc e o, ilumine su obsesi a búsqueda de espacio(s), an o en é minos biog á icos como li e a ios. I one we e o choose he mos i ine an , oo less, and ye s angely place-awa e w i e in he ea ly wen ie h cen u y Ame ican scene, Edwa d Dahlbe g would ank among he e y i s . In his ―In oduc ion‖ o an omnibus edi ion con aining ea ly no els, s o ies and au obiog aphical ic ions, c i ic Ha old Billings highligh s he shi ing Ame ica o Dahlbe g‘s childhood and you h: he was bo n in a Bos on cha i y hospi al (1900), and aised singly by a Polish immig an mo he who ambled he Sou h and he Midwes , un il se ling in Kansas Ci y in 1905. A wel e, Edwa d was dispa ched o he Cle eland Jewish O phan Asylum. A se en een he le he o phanage o wo k a odd jobs in he egion. A 19, almos b oke, he se led in he Los Angeles YMCA, whe e he depended on odd jobs and checks om his mo he , while pu suing a li e a y educa ion wi h an elde men o a he Ch is ian Associa ion. He a ended he Uni e si y o Cali o nia a Be keley om 1921 o 1923, hen ans e ed o Columbia Uni e si y, om which he g adua ed in 1925 (Billings xi ). “He was in no place and no place was in him”: Edwa d Dahlbe g’s 147 Au obiog aphical Fic ions as an Epis emology o Si es Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 In he la e wen ies, Dahlbe g became a li e a y expa ia e in F ance, Belgium and England, whe e he me he Ame ican and Anglo-I ish mode nis s, E nes Hemingway, F. Sco Fi zge ald, T.S. Elio , Ez a Pound, W.B. Yea s, James Joyce, Samuel Becke , and he playw igh Seán O'Casey. Looking back ac oss he A lan ic, Dahlbe g composed much o his wo ea ly no els, Bo om Dogs (1930) and F om Flushing o Cal a y (1932) om he Eu opean con inen , ende ing he luc ua ing scenes o his boyhood and you h, pa ly unde he in luence o a mode nis aes he ics, bu also pa ly wi hin he pa adigm o social ic ion. A e a b ie pe iod li ing in New Yo k‘s G eenwich Village, Dahlbe g isi ed Ge many in 1933, wo king as a co esponden o he London Times. His explici condemna ions o he eme ging Nazi egime en angled him in a igh wi h a Ge man s o m oope in a Be lin ca é, an e en ha scaled in o a diploma ic inciden , and made he in e na ional news headlines, when Dahlbe g lodged a complain wi h he Ame ican Consula e, which he Ge man au ho i ies p essu ed him o wi hd aw (Jewish Daily Bulle in, 2). Back in he US, Dahlbe g augh a Bos on Uni e si y om 1944 o 1948 and, b ie ly, a he Black Moun ain College in No h Ca olina. In he i ies, as he u ned o au obiog aphy and essay w i ing, he eloca ed o he Danish island o Bo nholm, 2 and in he ea ly six ies he mo ed o Solle , in Mallo ca. Fo longe o sho e pe iods, o he domiciles o Dahlbe g‘s adul li e included Dublin, Wicklow, London, Mad id, Malaga, Mexico Ci y and he Seychelles. Dahlbe g‘s ea ly au obiog aphical ic ions always employ place and geog aphical space as a key s uc u al and na a i e de ice. His au obiog aphy Because I Was Flesh 3 (1959) is s uc u ed in wel e chap e s, each o hem signaling a new eloca ion ac oss he Ame ican e i o y, om Bos on o New Yo k, ia he Sou h, he Midwes , and Cali o nia. His i s wo no els Bo om Dogs and F om Flushing o Cal a y 4 which can be ead in sequence as an unin e up ed Bildungs oman wi h di e ing na a i e empos, ace Dahlbe g‘s childhood and you h (Lo y in he no els), h ough 2 Uncannily symbolic o he sense o placelessness ha haun s Dahlbe g and his au obiog aphical sel , Bo nholm is e y a om Denma k, lying in he Bal ic be ween Sweden and he no h Ge man coas . 3 Hence o h ci ed as Flesh. 4 In discussion, hence o h ci ed as Flushing. All pa en he ical ci a ions o ei he no el, o he un inished no el Mimes, will e e o he omnibus edi ion o Dahlbe g‘s ea ly w i ing, ci ed simply as Wo ks. 148 Ma ín U diales-Shaw Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 chap e s ha seem o s uc u e hese memo ies in e ms o place. Bo om Dogs co e s he i s wen y yea s o Lo y‘s/Dahlbe g‘s li e, de o ing he i s wo chap e s o ea ly childhood in Kansas Ci y, h ee o he Cle eland O phanage yea s, ano he h ee o his eunion wi h his mo he in Kansas Ci y, wo o his wande ings ac oss Cali o nia and San F ancisco, and he closing chap e s o scenes o his YMCA yea s in Los Angeles. Mo e a uned o he mode nis conce ns wi h he in ensi ica ion o ime, consciousness, memo y and subjec i i y, Flushing ocuses on he b ie New Yo k pe iod in he mid-1920s, bu he ac ual ma e ial (and o en ma ginal) si es o his me opolis in ica ely commingle wi h he childhood spaces o memo y o i s p equel: Kansas Ci y, he Cle eland O phanage and, again, he YMCA in Los Angeles. Dahlbe g‘s i ine an childhood, adolescence and you h, a o ma i e pe iod ha he w i e na a i ely ic ionalized in explici ly opog aphical e ms in hese wo ea ly no els, which closely mi o 5 he spa ial s uc u al di ision o he au obiog aphy Flesh, is signi ican ly and ecu en ly con igu ed by he in luence o ce ain spaces, akin o iden ical o si es designa ed by F ench philosophe Michel Foucaul as he e o opias, ―some hing like coun e -si es … [in which] all he o he eal si es ha can be ound wi hin he cul u e, a e simul aneously ep esen ed, con es ed and in e ed‖ (24). These ―coun e -si es‖ a e some imes pi o al o he de elopmen o Dahlbe g‘s au obiog aphical cha ac e Lo y, bu hey can also be no ably ma ginal, ha is, he e o o eg ound Lo y‘s absence om hem in ele an ways, o hey may also embody a p edominan ly a i icial na u e, unc ioning as a simulac a o expe iences ha need o be cas ou by Lo y. In he ollowing pages, d awing on heo e ical ene s ela ed o spaces, si es and en i onmen s as se ou by Foucaul , Jean Baud illa d, Julia K is e a, and Hen i Le eb e I will con end ha a ―si ua ed‖ epis emological app oach is essen ial in p oduc i ely eading Dahlbe g‘s ea ly au obiog aphical ic ions, which a e ma kedly in o med by a keen awa eness o how a sense o place modeled bo h his iden i y as an indi idual and as a w i e . I will be using bo h he no ions o place and si e o e e o he di e se spaces o he building-ins i u ion, he u ban neighbo hood, o he amusemen pa k. Thus, my p incipal conce n is no so much wi h 5 Al ed Kazin ap ly summa ized ―[Dahlbe g] published his own s o y se e al imes in he o m o ic ion‖ (111). “He was in no place and no place was in him”: Edwa d Dahlbe g’s 149 Au obiog aphical Fic ions as an Epis emology o Si es Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 axonomizing di e ence be ween hese heo e ical concep s, as o highligh he ele ance o space/s o Lo y as au obiog aphical cha ac e and o Dahlbe g as w i e . CRISIS HETEROTOPIAS: THE CLEVELAND ORPHAN ASYLUM & THE LOS ANGELES YMCA. Two signi ican ins i u ions p esided o e , and would la gely de e mine, Dahlbe g‘s unusual childhood and you h: he Jewish O phan Asylum in Cle eland and he Young Men‘s Ch is ian Associa ion in Los Angeles. These, I will a gue, con o m a mo e au hen ic sense o home han ha e e p o ided by his uns able and e a ic mo he (Lizzie Lewis in he no els) in he pe iods in-be ween, whe he in Kansas Ci y o in New Yo k. In Bo om Dogs, Lo y‘s O phanage li e spans h ee chap e s (3 o 5, pp. 175-217) bu meaning ul ecollec ions o his si e‘s esiden s in ude la e in ime, in he mids o he Los Angeles YMCA sec ion (chap e s 12 o 15), and, wi h e en mo e i id in ensi y, in Pa Fi e o Flushing, he no el‘s sequel, as Lo y e isi s he hen de elic si e. The o phanage expe ience in Bo om Dogs is ini ially auma ic, no leas because behind he decision o dispa ch Lo y was his mo he ‘s new pa ne , a manipula i e and sel -se ing indi idual. 6 Fu he auma a ises when, on a i al, Lo y is p edic ably designa ed a ―newcumbe ‖ and his Sou he n Missou i d awl becomes a a ge o idicule when he inally has o alk o o he boys, a e an obs ina e ini ial ese e. G adually, howe e , and in spi e o he s ic ly egimen ed li e, bad ood, and a penal y-based pedagogy, Lo y g ows in o he o phanage sys em and ea ns espec when he unexpec edly p e ails in a igh he had mean o a oid, an ea ly i e o passage wi hin his communi y o pee s. The o phanage boys a e collec i ely e e ed o as ―inma es,‖ and, indi idually, by nicknames. Dahlbe g, in ac , i les wo o he O phanage chap e s a e wo o i s iconic ogues, He man Mush Ta e and Bonehead-S a -Wol e, who mee agic ends a e being expelled o lea ing he ―home,‖ as hey all e e o he asylum. Foucaul desc ibed he boa ding school as an ins ance o a ypically nine een h cen u y ―c isis he e o opia‖ a si e ― ese ed o 6 In Flesh, Dahlbe g w i es ―He had in ima ed ha i she could ge he boy ou o he way [...] hey migh make plans oge he . A 38, she was posi i e ha i Hen y Smi h did no ma y he , she was as good as dead‖ (63-64). 150 Ma ín U diales-Shaw Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 indi iduals, who a e, in ela ion o socie y and o he human en i onmen in which hey li e, in a s a e o c isis‖ (24). Subsequen ly, he a gues ha hese si es ha e, in he wen ie h cen u y, been la gely eplaced by ―he e o opias o de ia ion,‖ such as psychia ic hospi als, es homes, o p isons, which shel e indi iduals ―de ian in ela ion o he equi ed no m‖ (25). In Dahlbe g‘s expe ience, ic ionally na a i ized h ough he au obiog aphical Lo y, he Jewish O phan Asylum sha es ai s om bo h hese he e o opic si es, appea ing simul aneously as a po en ially educa ional and spi i ually- o ming en i onmen , bu also a ep essi e and dep i ed ins i u ion, as illus a ed by he a emp s o i s inma es o escape empo a ily in o Cle eland o ge be e ood o enjoy some eedom. 7 The asylum is a collec i e Home o ou cas s and a ―coun e -si e‖ ha ― e-p esen [s], con es [s] and in e [s]‖ (24) he eal homes o child en wi h one o bo h unc ional pa en s. Dahlbe g‘s sense o belonging o he Jewish O phan Asylum as an ing ained su oga e home is so s ong, ha he w i e has his ins i u ion esu ace in Pa Fi e (―J.O.A. Ja Wohl, Das Is Das Weisenhaus‖) 8 o he New Yo k-se Flushing, when Lo y e u ns a decade la e : Then some hing sank wi hin him … He s ood he e gaping. He had come o he place. Bu he o phanage, like Wolkes, was in no place. The e was no mo e o phan asylum. […] The e was nowhe e o him o go – and he el as i he e would ne e be any eason o him o go anywhe e, o any place, because no place would e e be in him. (Wo ks 454) Pu suing an expe imen al echnique ha he had adop ed in his second no el, he na a i e o m o Pa Fi e jux aposes Lo y‘s wande ings h ough he all- oo amilia buildings o he now de elic si e wi h s eam-o -consciousness sec ions, p in ed in smalle ype and uncapi alized, in which memo ies o he las supe in enden Simon Wolkes, a e i idly cas , specially conce ning Lo y‘s con lic ed p ojec ion o lo e, admi a ion and desi e o app o al 7 Ye , once Lo y lea es he O phanage, Cle eland becomes an i ele an si e, as he b ie , ansi ional chap e ―Ceda A enue Nigh s‖ e eals. On how se e al Ame ican ci ies emain alien o Lo y, e e o he conclusions. 8 This li e ally ansla es ―Jewish O phan Asylum Indeed, This is he O phan Home.‖ The ma ked in luence o Ge man ui ion, including he ly ics o eligious hymns, is pa en in Dahlbe g‘s o phanage memo ies. “He was in no place and no place was in him”: Edwa d Dahlbe g’s 151 Au obiog aphical Fic ions as an Epis emology o Si es Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 o / om a su oga e a he igu e who is essen ially obli ious o him: ―he lo ed wolkes mo e han he lo ed his mo he , he sang his p aye s way ou loud and wi h high-pi ched de o ion so ha wolkes could see: he ollowed him all o e ‖ (450). Wolkes is signi ican ly absen , pe haps pu pose ully ep essed, om he o phanage chap e s in Bo om Dogs, bu eme ges powe ully in his agmen ed chap e o Flushing ha also blends in sna ches o nu se y hymes (hump y dump y), he Jewish Passo e song Chad Gadyo, and lines om he O phanage con i ma ion hymn ( a he , see hy supplian child en). The o e bea ing nos algia o a si e i id in Lo y‘s mind, bu ma e ially in uins, pe mea es his sec ion, which is a imes e oca i e o he polyphonic na u e o T.S. Elio ‘s Was eland, in i s usion o ex s, languages and egis e s. The childhood a Cle eland O phanage p ojec s i sel ully in o he second c isis si e o Lo y‘s li e, he Los Angeles YMCA, which, besides Foucaul ‘s ac ual usage o he e m, embodies he concep in i s G eek e ymological sense, as a ― u ning poin ‖ owa ds he incep ion o he a is as a young man, in he Joycean coinage. The b ie Los Angeles YMCA e a is a pe iod o Dahlbe g‘s li e s ongly colou ed by his ela ionship wi h Max Lewis, a senio pal om O phanage imes, and al eady a YMCA boa de when he des i u e Lo y a i ed in Hope S ee in down own LA, a age 19. The in luence o Max Lewis on Dahlbe g as a young aspi ing w i e was so s ong ha Dahlbe g adop ed he su name o his own ic ional au obiog aphical pe sona (Lo y Lewis) and dedica ed Flushing o him, in acknowledgmen o his li e a y indeb edness. 9 Tellingly, jus as Bo om Dogs seems o in oduce Lo y‘s li e a he Los Angeles YMCA, he na a i e ins an ly shi s back in o a e ospec i e excu sus o he agically Faulkne ian amily accoun o he Maxwells/Lewises 10 leading o Max and his siblings being in e ned in he o phanage (Wo ks 280-294), be o e esuming he p esen ime ame wo chap e s la e . In bo h he au obiog aphy and he no els, Dahlbe g ecoun s, wi h a ying de ail, Max‘s al e na i e li es yle, his 9 In a i idly ecalled and mo ing scene o Flesh, whe e he wo young men inally pa ways, he w i e also e e es Lewis o ha ing pe suaded him o en ol a ― he uni e si y a Be keley‖ (141). 10 The Lewises become he Maxwells in he no els, Max Lewis being Max Maxwell. Ye Max is e e ed o as Lao Tsu Ben in Flesh, his eal alias du ing he Los Angeles pe iod. 152 Ma ín U diales-Shaw Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 Masonic membe ship, his isky en ep eneu ial en u es, and his many sexual exploi s. Bu Max is, abo e all, essen ial in ini ia ing Lo y/Dahlbe g in li e a y classics and philosophical inqui y, as he w i e ecalls in Flesh: This man […] liked o call himsel Lao Tsu Ben, and he was o be my men o . F om him I lea ned o Gissing‘s The P i a e Pape s o Hen y Ryec o , Samuel Bu le ‘s E ewhon, The Upanishads, Daude ‘s Sappho, Gau ie ‘s The Golden Fleece, The Medi a ions o Ma cus Au elius, and Wilde‘s De P o undis—books which I bough in he secondhand shops by selling my o e coa . (127) While he au obiog aphy ocuses e y exclusi ely on Lewis/Lao Tsu Ben, Lo y‘s own p ospec s a he ime a e mo e clea ly ea u ed in some pages o he ―Bensonhu s ‖ sec ion o Flushing (Wo ks 359-364), which, as i did wi h he o phanage pe iod, again unc ions e ospec i ely o encapsula e he Los Angeles-YMCA e a. He e, Lo y eminisces on how he ―decided o be a w i e ‖ (Wo ks 359), eci ing li e a y lines om Eme son and om Wilde‘s ―The Ballad o Reading Gaol,‖ while s uggling o ge a mo ie sc ip accep ed a a Hollywood s udio. I is in his con ex ha Lewis esu aces as an in ellec ual men o : ―Maxwell i s s a ed o guide Lo y in his eadings‖ (Wo ks 361). Beyond he ex ao dina y in luence o Lewis/Maxwell, he YMCA i sel is also eminiscen o he Cle eland O phanage, as bo h a su oga e home and a c isis he e o opia in Foucauldian e ms. In Bo om Dogs, Lo y‘s i s con ac wi h he ins i u ion in ol es hanging a ound he lobby wi h a numbe o ―bums,‖ looking o shel e o a ee meal, who a e egula ly expelled (Wo ks 275-6; 295). Ha ing no money o he membe ship ee, Lo y himsel is aken o a ag an , un il Maxwell appea s and ouches o him be o e he desk cle k (276). Al hough only one chap e o Bo om Dogs de ails la e li e a he ―Y‖ (playing poke , d inking, and being owdy), he sense o a disciplined li e wi h ules o deco um and a eligious educa ion in ol ing p aye s and hymns, which also ela es o an all-male communi y, mi o s, in a ious ways, he Jewish O phanage backg ound. MARGINAL SITES, LIFELESS PLACES: BENSONHURST, BROOKLYN AND CALVARY, QUEENS. “He was in no place and no place was in him”: Edwa d Dahlbe g’s 153 Au obiog aphical Fic ions as an Epis emology o Si es Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 Whe eas he O phanage and he YMCA become key cen al si es in Lo y‘s o ma ion, o en ecu ing and in uding h ough memo y in o la e pe iods o he indi idual‘s li e, in sha p con as , wo u ban a eas o his you h eme ge as ma ginal, unli ed o li eless. These New Yo k dis ic s, Bensonhu s and Cal a y, appea in Flushing, a wo k whe e Dahlbe g employed a dis inc New Yo k ca og aphy o en i le h ee o i s six cons i uen pa s (1. Bensonhu s ; 2. Flushing o Cal a y; 4. Coney Island Angelus Bells), which a e no always consis en ly ele an o Lo y‘s li e-s o y. Re ealingly, unlike he ea lie o ma i e si es discussed abo e, bo h Bensonhu s and Cal a y co espond o one o he pe iods o Lo y‘s li e sha ed wi h his mo he Lizzie, who o en becomes he ocalize o he na a i e in his no el. The i s ou chap e s o he Bensonhu s sec ion, p e aced by he quo ed epig am ―Cheap Peoples Li e He e!‖ (Wo ks 325), unc ion o o eg ound se e al modes o exclusion om he Ame ican success e hic, he neighbo hood becoming me onymic o pa alysis, economic ailu e, and un ealized d eams. Dahlbe g does his by ocusing on he inse s o ies o se e al cha ac e s (Lizzie Lewis, Willy Huppe , and Je y Cale onia) while side acking Lo y‘s cen al au obiog aphical na a i e. Con e sely, when Lo y‘s na a i e is esumed in chap e 6 o Bensonhu s , i is h ough a e ospec i e sec ion, encapsula ing pa s o Bo om Dogs dealing wi h his ea lie Los Angeles li e, un ela ed o he ma e iali y o his neighbo hood. Dahlbe g‘s conce n in his pa o he no el –oddly disco dan wi h he aes he icized sec ions ea u ing Lo y as cen e o consciousness— is o show aliena ed cha ac e s s uggling o ind a sense o hei li es in Bensonhu s . Two o hese a e ecen immig an s o he US, he Ge man-Du ch Willy Huppe , who becomes a boa de wi h he Lewises, and he A gen inian Je y Cale onia, who mee s Lizzie Lewis and has hopes o seducing he . Bo h Huppe and Cale onia eel linguis ically and cul u ally ma ginal, lacking luency in English and he capaci y o engage wi h Ame ican social no ms o en ep eneu ship. Ini ially spellbound by he New Yo k sigh s o he Ba e y, he S a ue o Libe y and he island e ies, Willy Huppe despe a ely seeks a manage o pu sue his boxing d eam, bu his li e is de e mined by a 12-hou job in a s o e and a pe sis en soli ude: ―on la e a e noons, he liked o sp awl on a pa kbench and alk o Ame icans‖ (Wo ks 339). Mo e symbolically ele an o his sec ion, howe e , is he A gen inian Je y Cale onia, he cha ac e used by Dahlbe g o ocalize he 160 Ma ín U diales-Shaw Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 simul aneously memo ialized and ma e ialized, h ough an ongoing jux aposi ion o pas and p esen na a i e ime ames. Flushing d aws o a close in Pa Six, as Lo y inally abandons hei enemen a e selling he u ni u e. Now ac ually o phaned and homeless, he ge s ―caugh up in a Communis Rio a Union Squa e‖ (Williams ―Laza us‖ 31) iolen ly dispe sed by police. Th ough a de amilia ized pe spec i e, he s a ing Lo y is shown picking a peanu om he sidewalk in Union Squa e, and suddenly inding himsel amids ―a pa ade‖ he hinks is chan ing ―a ma ch ime hymnal p ocession‖ (Wo ks 472-3), as ing ained memo ies o o phanage imes ake o e ye again. Hu by he moun ed police who a e b eaking up he ally and unawa e o i s poli ical signi icance, Lo y con inues walking owa d Washing on Squa e, chewing on he peanu and singing an o phanage hymn. Resuming an expe imen al na a i e mode, Dahlbe g e en has he hymn‘s music shee p in ed on he page. The no el ends wi h Lo y chan ing his hymn, musing T eading along, his hin soles, callousbu ns agains his ee , he hough he would go somewhe e, bu he didn‘ know whe e […] Vaguely, he belie ed, going, going somewhe e, would be mo e possible o him han doing. Bu wha could he push himsel in o, whe e could he d i e himsel ? Cle eland, Chi, F isco, L.A., hey made him mu e wi h cold. They we e he nas ywe sea s- oebuck ca alogue shee s o a leaky ou house up agains him. (Wo ks 474-5) This las men al image, obscu ely ou da ed oday, jux aposes he agic allu e o consume cul u e o he g im ce ain ies o Lo y‘s homelessness and po e y. Coun e pa o oday‘s online Amazon, he Sea s-Roebuck, an ea ly cen u y mail o de ca alogue which amously ad e ised, among o he goods, homes and cabins o be se up on one‘s p ope y, was ypically ecycled o oile pape shee s in he ―ou house,‖ i sel also ad e ised wi hin hese pages (―The Sea s Ca alog‖). As Lo y wande s cen al New Yo k aimlessly, hese Ame ican ci ies a e imaged as ―nas ywe sea s- oebuck ca alogue shee s,‖ disca ded si es o his childhood and adolescence, me ging in his memo y as almos indis inguishable places. This inal sequence, wi h i s b inging oge he o Ame ican me opolises, he na ionwide bible o consume capi alism, and he homelessness o he u ban wande e , becomes ma kedly in o med by a discou se o spa iali y which signi ican ly pe o ms he Le eb ian pa adigm o he “He was in no place and no place was in him”: Edwa d Dahlbe g’s 161 Au obiog aphical Fic ions as an Epis emology o Si es Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 ―p oduc ion o space,‖ as ―[bo h] a p econdi ion and a esul o social supe s uc u es [o ] he S a e‖ (q d. in Tally 117). Indeed, Dahlbe g highligh ed ― he ine i abili y o ailu e o he dolla less Ame ican apped in a capi alis ic socie y‖ (q d. in Williams ―Laza us‖ 30) as a signi ican heme o Flushing. Read oge he , he wo ea ly au obiog aphical ic ions Bo om Dogs and Flushing cha he complex in e ela edness o place in Lo y‘s o ma i e yea s, shaping a e y dis inc app oach o he na a i e o Dahlbe g‘s li e, one ha enac s Foucaul ‘s p emise on he ‗spa ial u n‘ o he wen ie h cen u y. The ways in which he o phanage and he LA YMCA in ude nos algically in o la e New Yo k li e, he ac ha Lo y‘s au obiog aphical s o y-line ecedes om he Cal a y and Bensonhu s sec ions, he pa icula e/p esen a ion o Coney Island as supplie o simulac a, and he open-endedness o Flushing, showing a homeless Lo y mechanically d i ing in he ci y, e eal an ongoing conce n wi h he pu sui o si ua edness ha always in igued Dahlbe g, as much as i eluded him. In he absence o a s able home, he amilia spaces o Lo y‘s/Dahlbe g‘s you h emain he e o opic si es, in hemsel es su oga e homes, while he ci ies beyond –Cle eland, Los Angeles, New Yo k— pass in quick succession and become o him ―aliena ed ci ies,‖ in he e ms se ou by Ke in Lynch, and la e espoused by F ed ic Jameson (Jameson 51; Lynch q d. in Tally 71): spaces which a e unmappable, ung aspable in hei u ban o ali y. Ano he way in which he ques ion o si ua edness becomes cen al o hese ea ly no els has been men ioned ea ly on in his essay, and dese es u he commen . This in ol es Dahlbe g‘s ―posi ion‖ and ―way inding‖ as a young w i e , composing hese Ame ican no els abou Ame ican spaces om Eu opean places (F ance, Belgium, England) and unde he in luence o Anglo-I ish mode nism. Al hough bo h no els ace Lo y‘s you h ch onologically and a e app op ia ely ead in sequence ( he la e , as has been discussed, o en e oking he spaces o he o me ), hey ne e heless cha a signi ican shi in e ms o gen e. The a he consis en na a i e linea i y o Bo om Dogs, b oken only by wo chap e s owa ds he no el‘s end, gi es way o he aes he ic expe imen a ion o Flushing, wi h i s polyphonic Pa 4, i s s eam o consciousness memo y sec ions, he jux aposi ion o ime- ames, and he collaging- in o musical no a ion. C i ics ha e o en labelled hese wo ks, pa icula ly Bo om Dogs, as ―classic(s) o p ole a ian li e a u e,‖ ending o ocus on he unde lying hemes o penu y and economic 162 Ma ín U diales-Shaw Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 s uggle which unde lie he na a i e. Bu i is ha d o econcile Dahlbe g‘s s yle, e en in Bo om Dogs, wi h he ealism and na u alism ha cha ac e ized he social no els o he pe iod, 17 while Flushing e y clea ly swi ches in o a mode nis aes he ics ha clea ly ou weighs a sense o social c i ique. Ul ima ely, Dahlbe g‘s li e a y space in he la e wen ies and ea ly hi ies becomes shi ing g ound, a complex c oss oads ha blends wo king-class consciousness wi h mode nis o m, unde he compe ing in luences o he ideological 18 and he a is ic. In he 1940s and 1950s, as he w i e u ned away om au obiog aphical ic ion o essay w i ing, philosophical and an h opological enqui y, and he e ision o li e a y my hs, he no ions o absen si es, homelessness o inne exile emained a lei mo i o his w i ings, as a ious commen a o s obse ed. Commen ing on one o hese la e , be e known books, The Ca nal My h, An hony Bu gess in e p e s Dahlbe g‘s ision o Ame ican iden i y in he New Wo ld: ―The Ame ican has been dwa ed by a con inen so la ge i canno e e be a home‖ (Williams T ibu e 62). On he pa , c i ic Kay Boyle e e s o Dahlbe g as a ―man in he wilde ness,‖ who knew ―he was des ined, bo h as man and w i e , o be an exile in he land o his bi h‖ (Williams T ibu e 68). Bu , pe haps, one o he mos insigh ul assessmen s o Dahlbe g‘s indi idual and a is ic s uggle wi h a sense o place is eco ded by A no Ka len, himsel a a e in ellec ual who s addled he ields o li e a y c ea ion, as a poe and sho s o y w i e , wi h his medical specializa ion in sexuali y and psychoanalysis: 17 In his e a, an in e es ing coun e poin o Dahlbe g‘s ea ly wo k is Daniel Fuchs‘ Summe in Williamsbu g (1934) a na u alis ic ic ion which p ominen ly ex ualizes, in socioeconomic, psychological and e hnic e ms, he in luence o New Yo k dis ic s (Williamsbu g, Manha an, and o he s) on he cha ac e s‘ des inies. 18 Dahlbe g joined he Communis Pa y in 1934 and published his hi d no el, Those Who Pe ish, ha same yea . A he ime, a commen a o o he Ma xis jou nal New Masses, a emp ing o si ua e Dahlbe g poli ically h ough a e iew o he new no el, w o e: ―[a e Bo om Dogs and Flushing] he e has been unce ain y as o Dahlbe g‘s posi ion as a w i e ‖ (Bu nshaw 26). This e iewe goes on o celeb a e Dahlbe g‘s p og ess om ― he pic u es o decay‖ (i.e., Flushing) bu is ha d pu o label Those Who Pe ish as ― e olu iona y ic ion,‖ as i conce ns ―complex middle-class indi iduals‖ (Bu nshaw 27). Today, his wo k is chie ly emembe ed as he i s Ame ican an i-Nazi no el, w i en in he wake o Dahlbe g‘s a e ul isi o Ge many in 1933. “He was in no place and no place was in him”: Edwa d Dahlbe g’s 163 Au obiog aphical Fic ions as an Epis emology o Si es Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos 21 (2017), Se ille, Spain. ISSN 1133-309-X. pp. 145-165 [Dahlbe g] bounces as he walks he ea h, wi hou he ballas o inhe i ed my h, longing o e en he memo y o a homeland and ances al house. Bu e en he memo y is o go en … so i c ies o ec ea ion e e y day in his wo k. The ec ea ion is pa guess, pa in en ion, pa he memo y o emembe ing. So i is ne e igh . The bes success ails and makes him y again. So he emains an a is . And in his a he p o es ha an Ame ican, an a is , a Jew, a a he less son li es ou he my h o my hlessness, i sel a Sa gasso homeland. (Williams T ibu e 73) Looking back om ea ly old age a his beginnings as a w i e in he la e wen ies, Dahlbe g s ill e lec ed on bo h he place and he disloca ion o his ea ly ic ion. In 1961, li ing in he medi e anean island own o Solle , in Majo ca, Dahlbe g composed a b ie p e ace o Bo om Dogs a he enewal o he wo k‘s copy igh . Thi y yea s a e he no el‘s i s and la gely unsuccess ul publica ion, in his p e ace he w i e eminisces on wha he now pe cei es as he no el‘s cen al law, he ― ough, bleak idiom‖ (Wo ks 145) ha ma e ialized om his ea ly a emp s o p oduce ―a e nacula Ame ican Ulysses‖ (Billings, Wo ks x i) which would b ing oge he mode nis aes he ics, social ic ion and he Ame ican scene. So Dahlbe g linge s, inally, bo h in ―no place‖ and in oo many places, one o he mos ascina ingly in e s i ial w i e s in he Ame ican wen ie h cen u y. 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