Pp. 256-276 Summary

"fractional note" reads like an apocalyptic dirge. The author describes a world in which all art is getting worse, all certainties are disappearing, and all hope is diminished. Our author, though, does not feel too bad.

In "a following" Chinaski gets a call from a publisher in Denver demanding some poems. The caller's insistence that Chinaski has a following in Denver is undermined by a background voice telling the poet to fuck himself. Chinaski hangs up.

"a tragic meeting" tells of Chinaski's meeting with a fan called JoJo. JoJo is one of the rare students to whose letter the poet responds. They meet at her college, and Chinaski takes her back to his place. There he tries to sleep with her and nearly does, but she insists she has to leave on the verge of consummation. Chinaski lays down and thinks...