Page 2
By Jack Joseph Smith
Yes it was the
last place to
go, but when
you got to Los
Angeles, it was
the first place
to go.
By Jack Joseph Smith
Original Scan
AI Interpretation
Los Angeles is described as both the final destination and the true point of beginning.
The line works because it turns a city into a paradox of arrival. It sounds like a note about geography, but it really names a psychological threshold.
A seven-line epigram, each phrase given its own short line, that turns on a single reversal: 'Yes it was the / last place to / go, but when / you got to Los / Angeles, it was / the first place / to go.' Los Angeles is named as both the end of the road and the place everything restarts - a compact thesis for the notebook's geography.