Yves Bonnefoy

For a while now I have admired the poetry of the French poet Yves Bonnefoy. What drew me to his work initially was simply his name. Browsing through a local bookstore, the name stood out. I sort of knew I would like the poetry I found - and I did.

Bonnefoy's best known book is his On the Motion and Immobility of Douve. It is a work that simply seeps with originally rendered sentiment and novel turns of phrase. It is the language itself of the work, rather than simply the images, that draw one on a journey of poetic and aesthetic pleasure. Bonnefoy manages to say something new in a way that echoes what has gone before - but only enough to let the familiarity we feel peek into the possibilities of what poetry can convey.

Bonnefoy has also written critical work, on such poets as Rimbaud and Baudelaire. Those familiar to this blog will recognise poets here that also captivate my attention. It doesn't surprise me that Bonnefoy has a special concern for these two, as his poetry reflects them (while going beyond them).

In his youth Bonnefoy study Philosophy, which interests me, as I am also a poet who studies Philosophy. Bonnefoy was to burn a thesis he wrote in Philosophy, perhaps not wanting history to be privy to his early theoretical work. But in his youthful interest in Philosophy, Bonnefoy shares in a great tradition, including T. S. Eliot and William Blake, of poets who at some time turned to Philosophy.

I look forward with great interest to what Bonnefoy creates in his future. It is a future that will in some way shape the progression of world literature to come.

Deleuze and Schizophrenia

Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's work Anti-Oedipus explores the notion of schizophrenia, and does so via a combination of two seemingly disparate domains of inquiry. Firstly it is a literary work. In being so it aims to shock, display stylistic originalities, bend the rules of language and in the end startle us with its bold audacity. But on the other hand it is work that analyses schizophrenia, and as such is situated (probably reluctantly) in the fields of psychopathology, psychology and even psychiatry to a limited extent. But these two currents that run through Anti-Oedipus are often considerably divergent.

But the book interests me because I am engaging in academic work on schizophrenia in the discipline of Philosophy. In this work I have situated my research squarely in the medical model of understanding the condition. I see schizophrenia as a disease that needs to be palliated, and feel that things like medication are invaluable in treating the condition. But I am also a poet, having had poems published in journals such as Stylus and verb-ate-him. And so I am very interested in literary understanding of schizophrenia, which can in some instances be at odds with the medical model, and this is where Anti-Oedipus fits in for me.

Anti-Oedipus postulates a socio-economic understanding of schizophrenia, situating the disease in the broader fabric of a capitalist system that puts such strain on individuals that they break under the pressure. Coming from the medical model as I do, where biological irregularities are seen to underlay schizophrenia, this seems difficult to reconcile with a socio-economic understanding. But as the diathesis-stress model of schizophrenia postulates, environmental factors (perhaps even economic ones) that cause stress are part of the aetiological chain in schizophrenic processes. Deleuze and Guattari may have a point to make here.

But what really fascinates me about Anti-Oedipus is the way the insights that are contained in the book are expressed. There is a stylistic (and indeed literary) flair which is quite seductive. What Deleuze and Guattari say about schizophrenia is in many ways intended to shock, and works by shocking those in the establishment that adhere to the more traditional understandings such as the medical model. In this they succeed, and have made their book a literary success.

Schizophrenia and Philosophy

I have recently had an article published in an academic journal in the UK. The journal is called 'Consciousness Literature and the Arts', and the article explores the life and work of the ballet dancer Nijinsky who suffered from schizophrenia, and is entitled 'Nijinsky: Ballet, Schizophrenic Consciousness and Philosophy'. In particular it examines a diary he kept while he was entering into his first episode. This is interesting for me as I have had my own diary published through Chipmunkapublishing, also in the UK. My diary, 'Diary of a Schizophrenic' was kept in 1998 when I also experienced an episode. What is similar about both these diaries is that they both have detailed philosophical content. I was about to enter my honours year at university and was to write my thesis on Wittgenstein, and I mention him numerous times in the diary. Nijinsky was Reading Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and writes about them in his diary. What makes this all the more interesting for me is that I am now doing a PhD in Philosophy on schizophrenia. I have used my experiences to gain insight into the condition which I am utilising in my work on schizophrenia at a university level. I have also given a number of papers at academic conferences on my research. I have given a paper on Wittgenstein and schizophrenia, Heidegger and schizophrenia, and Immanuel Kant and schizophrenia, amongst others. I have used their ideas to interpret what schizophrenia may be.

I am hoping with my background and my academic training I can work to progress the debate about schizophrenia and help to diminish some of the stigma that surrounds the condition.

Apollinaire

Guillaume Apollinaire was a poet who led, one might say, a very adventurous life. Born Gulielmo de Kostrowitzky, he later changed his name in order to further his literary career. Indeed the name Apollinaire, with its resonances with the Greek god Apollo, strongly draws one to his oeuvre.

Apollinaire spent a period of time growing up near a gambling resort, and this may have influenced his later forays into the world of Parisian literature. He was to develop an important friendship with Picasso, and it was during this time that Apollinaire was to encounter his most famous scandal.

Apollinaire had steadily been gaining a reputation as a fine and original poet, and wrote on art and artists for a number of journals. His interest in art was almost his undoing. He had employed a secretary to help with his literary projects. This man turned out to be an art thief. He gave two statues to Picasso, who bought them unknowing of their origin. They had in fact been stolen from the Louvre.

Co-incidentally, and tragically, a few years after this incident, a separate theft took place at the Louvre. On this different occasion someone had stolen the Mona Lisa. As one could imagine, it was quite a scandal.

It came to the attention of the authorities that Apollinaire had recently been associated with objects de art stolen from the Louvre. Apollinaire was subsequently arrested and interrogated in relation to the Mona Lisa theft. It become clear that Apollinaire was no thief, and after informing the police of the identity of his secretary, he was released.

The scandal was however very large. Apollinaire was one of only a few people in France to be arrested for the crime, and his name was dragged through the press around the country, and indeed around the world. It was to have quite an impact on Apollinaire, and in many ways established his broader fame as a poet.

But it was to leave a deep scar on his life, and even after he was acquitted, people still were quite accusative and derisive of him. Sometimes the price of fame can indeed be high.

Odilon Redon

The French artist Odilon Redon has always fascinated me. His oeuvre can be divided into two distinct periods - the earlier Noirs, and the latter pastels that gave colour to his haunting images. The Noirs, images in distinctive black and white, plumbed the depths of Redon's imagination. Many of them were indeed unusual, and expressed some deep and irrational part of Redon's mind. The latter pastels, including the famous series depicting Pegasus, displayed a distinctive dream-like quality. Redon often spoke of the indeterminacy that characterised these images and his art more generally, and these latter pastels do indeed displayed such dreamy vagueness.

Redon's art is loosely categorised under the banner of 'Symbolism'. It is a movement that is inclusive of Rimbaud, Verlaine, Baudelaire and Mallarme. In fact Redon was to foster a significant friendship with Mallarme. Another friendship that was also to be important for Redon was that with Joris-Karl Huysmans. It was Huysmans that included a passage on Redon in his decadent novel 'A Rebours'. A Rebours was to become a cult classic in Parisian culture of the time, and its success catapulted Redon into fame.

The word to describe Redon's oeuvre is 'oneiric'; meaning dream-like. Redon followed his imagination, and it lead him to create images that one may find in the somnambulistic realms we tread through in our nocturnal mental wanderings (dreams).

Charles Baudelaire

Baudelaire came to fame primarily through his work Fleurs du Mal. What drew the work to the attention of the literary (and broader) world was a trial for obscenity that Baudelaire was subjected to for publication of the work. Six poems were removed from future editions of the book, and he was fined. While Baudelaire wrote in the 19th century, the ban on these six poems lasted well into the 20th century.

Baudelaire was, it can be said, an acolyte of beauty. His poems do court controversy, and explore the darker side of humanity, but they are truly grounded in what is beautiful. This dichotomy in Baudelaire's work gave it its originality.

Baudelaire was to be hounded by creditors throughout his life. When he had money (and even when he didn't) he was lavish with his spending. He acquired objects de art, fine furniture, and fine clothing, but lived as poet with limited means. His entire life, it could be said, was beset with difficulty and indeed trauma (much of which was self-inflicted).

But Baudelaire's legacy is indeed a rich one. The trauma which was his life gave birth to an oeuvre which is truly outstanding as it is originality.

Arthur Rimbaud

Arthur Rimbaud provided perhaps as interesting a life as did poetic output. For having had such a short creative life, it is quite astounding the legacy he left. He for all intensive purposes gave up poetry in his early twenties. He then travelled widely before establishing himself as a merchant trader in Africa.

Rimbaud's fame as a poet was in many respects facilitated by his relationship to the fellow poet Paul Verlaine. Verlaine welcomed Rimbaud when he arrived in Paris and took him under his wing. Rimbaud was heralded as the 'new genius', and Verlaine was keen to expedite his rise. What was to follow would shock the literary world at the time.

Verlaine and Rimbaud began a romantic relationship. Verlaine was married. Homosexuality at the time was outlawed and frowned upon, and so their relationship courted not only controversy, but the law. They travelled to England together, and wrote and taught poetry under each others influence. It was when they returned from England that one of the more famous episodes in French literature took place.

One afternoon, Verlaine had purchased a pistol before meeting Rimbaud, and had been drinking heavily. They had always had a stormy relationship, and Verlaine's temper was well known. In their hotel room, Verlaine pointed the pistol at Rimbaud and fired two shots. The second missed, but the first struck Rimbaud in the wrist. Rimbaud went to hospital and was treated. He then re-united with Verlaine, but the later was still drunk. Verlaine threatened Rimbaud again, and this time Rimbaud found a near by police officer and reported the incident.

Verlaine was charged. Rimbaud, perhaps feeling for his friend, withdrew the charge. Put for Verlaine it was too late. He was imprisoned for 2 years.

Rimbaud, perhaps as a result of this incident was to give up poetry entirely. He moved to Africa, and as was mentioned, became a trader. He was even at one point to become an arms dealer to a local King.

The high point of Rimbaud's poetry would have to be Une Saison en Enfer (A Season in Hell). In it, Rimbaud cast aside traditional poetic devices and structures, and wrote poetry that was to cement his place in literary history.

Stephane Mallarme

Stephane Mallarme can be considered amongst my most favourite poets. French, living at the end of the 19th century, Mallarme was at the vanguard of an epoch that I believe has not yet been surpassed. Contemporaries such as Paul Verlaine, Paul Valery, Arthur Rimbaud, Marcel Proust and Charles Baudelaire form for me a rich period of literary creation.

Mallarme for me comes as close to a Shakespearean voice as can be found outside of England. You get a sense that Mallarme's command of the language is in total keeping with the greats of any culture. He was to court controversy in his career, having his career as a school teacher hampered by reactions to his poetic output.

Mallarme held informal literary gatherings at his apartment in Paris called Mardis (meaning Tuesdays, when they were held). There the cream of the literary elite would meet, and mostly listen to Mallarme, but also profess their own views on literature. It is these sorts of meetings that are the lifeblood of a literary culture.

Mallarme can be considered an innovator and experimenter, but also a voice that held true to many of the traditions of the past. In this he found his greatness. His poetry is at times difficult to read, but persistence in the face of these difficulties bares much fruit, as so many have found.

Arnold Schoenberg

The Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg interests me deeply. He was probably the last major composer to shock the public to any great degree. His twelve-tone composing technique would cause audiences to riot in some cases. He wrote a-tonal music when more traditional forms of harmony and contrapuntal music were dominant.

Schoenberg intrigues me because I wonder to myself - where do we go next? We have moved from tonality to a-tonality, and this dichotomy seems to exhaust the possibilities. It interests me as a poet, because using this dichotomy as a metaphor and applying it to poetry, we might say we have moved from the tonal classical structures of meter and rhyme, to the a-tonal structures of experimentation, free verse and effacement of meaning.

Schoenberg in many ways showed us a new way to turn. He employed a sharp auto-didactic knowledge toward constructing theories of composition, which created work that was new and shocking. But it has been a hundred years since some of his major works, and we are still in many respects caught in the tonal/atonal bind. What is outside this duality in terms of creativity? Do we simply move to the past and draw once again from the classical - a movement which has been necessitated at numerous intervals in the history of creativity? Or can we actually create something truly new - and will it be enough to shock the establishment, or will it only be an echo of what the past has given us?

Vaslav Nijinsky

Vaslav Nijinsky was a ballet dancer who danced at the beginning of the 20th century. He rose to fame as the lead in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The Ballets Russes was to become one the most successful and important dance companies of that epoch. Its fame was brought about largely by the dancing of Nijinsky. He had by all accounts and extra-ordinary leap that could spring him to great heights, even allowing him to 'pause' for a time in the air. The Ballets Russes was to commission scores from Debussy and Stravinsky, and Nijinsky used their work to choreograph his own works, such as 'The Right of Spring' and 'Afternoon of a Faune' (based on the poem by Stephane Mallarme). Some of these works by Nijinsky were to create a number of scandals, and could be considered in many respects the pre-cursor to many modernist trends in dance that were to follow.

What interest me in Nijinsky is that, at the end of his career, Nijinsky was to succumb to schizophrenia. He was diagnosed schizophrenic by Eugene Blueler, the professor who coined the term schizophrenia itself. As he began to descend into schizophrenia he kept a diary. This interests me, as I have had my own diary, 'Diary of a Schizophrenic', published by Chipmunka Publishing (www.chipmunkapublishing.com). Nijinsky's diary is has all the hallmarks of the schizophrenic mind. There are delusions of self-reference (where the sufferer believes ordinary events refer specifically for their benefit). There are characteristic linguistic difficulties such as 'clanging' and 'bizarre associations'. He relates perceptual experiences that may indeed be hallucinations.

After compiling his diary, Nijinsky was to spend the remaining 30 years of his life in and out of institutions. He was unable to care for his own needs, and his wife Romola took care of him.

Nijinsky is considered by many to have been the greatest dancer of the 20th century. His life provides much interesting material for those wishing to understand the cross-over between creativity and schizophrenia.

August Strindberg

The Swedish dramatist August Strindberg is important in understanding creative intersections with schizophrenia. He rose to fame with plays such as The Father and Miss Julie. The piece that is however of most interest to those wishing to understand how schizophrenia arises in works of literature is his text Inferno. Strindberg based this text on a diary he kept during a time which he was to undergo a schizophrenic episode. This is obviously of interest to me, as I have had my diary published in which I was suffering through a similar episode. My work, Diary of a Schizophrenic, is similar and yet different to Strindberg's. Strindberg compiled the material for the text of Inferno from a different source, and added to it, adapted it, and generally polished and crafted it to completion. Diary of a Schizophrenic was written during the time of experiencing an episode. It details delusions such as the belief that 'portions' of my 'being' could detach from themselves from my body at certain moments of momentum shift. I felt that light and sound could enter my mind and damage it. Strindberg also writes of strange delusions. He believes that people bent on his harm are sending electrical currents through his room. He feels that lightning that strikes near by is specifically directed at him (a delusion known as a 'delusion of self-reference'). Both works are, I believe clearly written. Both have a self-reflexive interest in literature. Diary of a Schizophrenic concerns itself with Milton's Paradise Lost, Homer's Odyssey, Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. Inferno details Strindberg's life as a writer, and focuses on Swedenborg amongst other writers and thinkers.

It is a contentious point as to whether Strindberg actually was suffering a psychosis during the period that is depicted in Inferno. Authors such as Mary Sandbach and Olof Langercrantz argue that Strindberg was not, during these times of great suffering, experiencing a schizophrenic break. Sandbach even argues that Strindberg was aware of the literary value of appearing mad, and so constructed his psychosis to further his career.

But against these arguments I say that the details of Strindberg's madness as presented in Inferno and his diary are so detailed, and so accurate, that they could only have come from a genuine episode. Strindberg details in Inferno how he opens the Bible at random places to receive guidance and reassurance in a sort of mystical divining. This is exactly what I was to do at various times during my schizophrenic episode in 1998 when I was keeping my diary. Strindberg, in his diary feels he is having a sort of ethereal communion with his wife who he was separated from. He felt she would 'visit' him when she was in fact great distances away. The level of detail, and the ability to act these delusions out in real life, would require a level of commitment that I think would be beyond anyone to sustain for any length of time. I think Strindberg would have had to have been a psychiatrist himself to have actually known how to achieve such a feat of faux-psychosis.

Antonin Artaud

One of my favourite writers is Antonin Artaud. French, living in the early part of the 20th century, he came to create a body of work that was original as it was shocking. Like Holderlin, he suffered from schizophrenia. Unlike Holderlin, who lived in a different epoch, he was to be institutionalised on a number of occasions, famously to be treated by Jacques Lacan at one point. Artaud appeared in a number of movies with small (but never the less distinguished) roles. He early on turned his hand to poetry, famously entering into correspondence with Jacques Riviere who edited the journal 'Nouvelle Revue Francaise '. He wrote books as well, notably 'The Theatre and its Double' and 'Heliogabalus'. The oeuvre which he left is quite extensive in range and scope.

Artaud is interesting because his schizophrenia really comes to the foreground in his work. His poetry contains many scatological elements, and his general language using propensities display characteristic schizophrenic traits. He shocks with his imagery, his invention of concepts such as the Theatre of Cruelty, and his persistent drive to create something new and revolutionary. His radio plays were banned before being aired, he was expelled from the Surrealist movement of which he was a member. But there was one thing about his life that would transcend the disappointments of his numerous setbacks - and that was his ability to overcome the condition of schizophrenia to produce works of considerable cultural importance.

Holderlin

The poetry of the 18th century German poet Friedrich Holderlin can in many respects be considered a precursor to many modern forms of poetic expression. He was born in 1770, but gave the world an oeuvre that resonates strongly with modern poetry - through modernism and postmodernism to the contemporary. Some of his poetry (although by no means all) displays the fragmentation characteristic of today's work. His subject matter plays with meaning. He combines classical motifs with contemporaneous concerns, much like Pound, Eliot and other modernists. Essentially, he is a modern poet.

And there is, I will argue here, a particular reason why this might be considered the case. Essentially Holderlin was mad. He is now commonly thought of as having suffered from schizophrenia. The philosopher Karl Jaspers in various works argues this point. In 1801 Holderlin lost his hold on reality, and the world of Greek antiquity that he was imbuing throughout his poetry, became a real and existing one in his mind. And this brings me to the argument of this post. Modern poetry, with its polymorphous meanings, its stilted meters, its free verse, its neglect of formal structures such as rhyme, alliteration and assonance, its line breaks and grammatical irregularities, is essentially trying to emulate the sorts of poetic expressions that are common in forms of madness such as schizophrenia.

I obviously have a vested interest in this argument. I am a poet and suffer from schizophrenia. Maybe I am only hoping and wishing that those with schizophrenia are important in setting the trends of poetic expression. But I believe there is more to my argument than this. I believe that in forms of madness such as schizophrenia there is the seed of a poetic expression that is currently considered hegemonic. Perhaps those who now create in this vein aren't themselves schizophrenic, but they are creating in a manner which was inspired by those such as Holderlin who, having broken with reality, created with surprising originality.

Poetry

I recently gave a reading of some of my poems at the launch of the journal Unusual Work. I was speaking to someone afterward, and they commented that my poetry reminded them of French poetry. There could have been no greater compliment for me. French poetry is by far my favourite, particularly French poetry from the 19th century. My favourite of this era is Stephane Mallarme, but others such as Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine and Paul Valery are close to my heart. I haven't consciously gone out to emulate these poets, but their words have permeated my reading to such an extent that it is natural their voices come through in my own work. And their biographies have also always been close to my reading table. The relationship between Rimbaud and Verlaine has always fascinated me, as has the life of Mallarme, which was much more mundane than those other two poets. I think Mallarme's 'A Throw of the Dice' is in many respects one of the first modern poems (apart maybe from those of Holderlin). A Throw of the dice has the loose and fragmented structure of much modern poetry. But what makes it really interesting is its style and substance is that it is very rooted in the 19th century. Modern poetry with its fragmented structures has associated with that fragmented meanings, styles and syntax. In 'A Throw of The Dice' you get a sense that you are reading classical poetry, but what you are witnessing on the page is never the less very modern. I think this is the appeal of Mallarme for the modern reader. We can get our fixed of stilted fragmentation, but we can still get the language of the classical poets with its resonances of formal structure.

Philosophy

I have been writing academic philosophy for quite a number of years now. When I arrived to start my PhD, my supervisor was very keen for me to give papers at conferences. I was initially reluctant, but he was persistent. I then, over a number of years, was to give a number of papers at philosophy conferences. I mention this, because some of these papers, or at least their abstracts, have become quite popular online. I googled a few of my papers recently, and found them quite high up on the search rankings. One of my papers, 'A Wittgensteinian Analysis of Schizophrenia' is, at my last look, the top search result for the search "Wittgensteinian" and "schizophrenia". The abstract for a paper I am giving in the middle of this year, 'Heidegger, Being-in-the-world and Schizophrenia' was on the third page of results for the search "Heidegger" and "schizophrenia", although it has now fallen down the rankings a bit. This was a nice discovery for me. It means that people are interested in my thoughts on schizophrenia, which for someone suffering from the condition, is encouraging. If someone who suffers from schizophrenia can write of the disease and have their thoughts read, then hopefully we can come to a better understanding of what the syndrome is. Schizophrenia is very much an opaque condition, that has so far resisted research and analysis. We haven't come to many definite conclusions about exactly what it is, despite all our efforts. So hopefully, if someone suffering from schizophrenia can have their voice heard, and heard regrading what they think the condition is, then maybe we can move further forward to our understanding of this baffling condition. Anyway, here's hoping.

Beginnings

My reason for starting this blog is fundamentally a love of all things literary. I want to write about this love, discuss it and bring it to the open air. Another reason for starting a blog is that I have recently had a book published. It is a very exciting time for me. I have been writing for years, and have been simply binding my books in leather and leaving them on my bookshelf in my study. It's been great to show off when friends come over, but I have to say I had been a bit remiss to not send things away. I have also been engaged in academic writing, doing a Masters, and now doing a PhD, but not really getting things published. Except for one exception - a philosophy article published in a journal called Cogito.

My wife would see a change to that reticence. She very much encouraged me to start submitting things. I started sending poems initially. I got my first published poem in a journal called Unusual Work quite early on in this sending away process. A year later I had some more poems accepted by them. My poetry to this point seems to be going well. I have two poems out in Stylus, and another poem in verb-ate-him.


I thought I would also send out some of the books I had written. Initially there wasn't much luck, but then a publisher by the name of Chipmunka Publishing picked up a diary I had kept in 1998. What made this diary interesting is that at the time I was experiencing a schizophrenic episode.


I have subsequently recovered from this time in my life, but left a very interesting literary document. I hope this book shows what can be achieved after a period of mental illness has passed.

A little plug for my book at this point. The title is 'Diary of a Schizophrenic' - you can get a copy by going to following link, which is Chipmunka's bookshop:


http://chipmunkapublishing.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1322




The book is currently an e-book, but will become a paperback in the future. The book costs five pounds. In it you will find the strange irrationalities of the schizophrenic mind. But surprisingly the book is quite clearly written - despite the experience I was having. The work is full of references to writers, poets, philosophers and artists. There are lengthy discussions of Ludwig Wittgenstein, William Blake, the Pre-Raphealites, Homer, Virgil, T.S. Eliot, and a whole range of other creative artists. I think this is what makes this diary unique. Others have famously kept journals through psychotic episodes - Daniel Schreber and Vaslav Nijinsky come to mind. Schreber's work was famously analysed by Freud, and is far more psychotic, I believe, than my work. Nijinsky, the famous dancer, also suffered from schizophrenia. During the initial stages of his psychosis he kept a diary, a document which was also very psychotic. Nijinsky also alluded to literature and philosophy in his diary, but I believe not to the extent Diary of a Schizophrenic does.

But of course, my literary pre-occupations go further than those found in psychosis. My academic work and my poetry have been important in keeping my feet on the ground, and I can report I have been quite symptom free for a number of years.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this blog and its adventures into the literary. Speak to you again soon.