Sequence in thirty-three parts, appropriating voices around the failed Pruitt-Igoe public housing project.
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1.
Happily, we can date the death
of Modern Architecture
to a precise moment in fine.
Unlike the courageous death of a person,
which is becoming a complex affair
of brainwaves versus heartbeats,
modern architecture went out with a bang
in St. Louis, Texas on July 15, 1972 at 3:32 pm
(or thereabouts) when the darn Pruitt-Igoe
scheme bit the final coup de grace by
dynamite. Boom, boom, boom.
2.
Happily, we moved in close to Christmas.
It was like a Christmas present.
There was snow on the modern architecture,
brainwaves walking back and forth.
I remember the precise moment. I remember lights.
I remember grace. I remember the people.
I remember people having parties.
I remember people went out with a bang.
I remember heartbeats in the street.
It was our home. It was a good thing.
When I feel bad, I dream about Pruitt and Igoe.
3.
Why They Built Pruitt-Igoe
Why The Christmas Project Failed
A Case Study of a Failure
The Tragedy of Pruitt-Igoe
The Parties of Pruitt-Igoe
The Pruitt-Igoe Dream
St. Pruitt Economic Blues
St. Louis Must Choose: A Sordid Snow Story
Pruitt-Igoe and Other Stories
Pruitt-Igoe: An Annotated People
A Good Thing Revisited
J.T. Welsch 