Paul Valery

A favourite poet of mine, a poet who also had some philosophical aspirations, is Paul Valery. French, living in the 19th Century, he had a short (but successful) poetic career, until he turned to a more private pursuit of letters. During this absence from poetry, he kept a series of notebooks, known as the Cahiers. These books contained a systematic exploration of philosophical, literary, scientific and mathematical ideas, which was to secure Valery as on object of study for roughly 100 years. He finally returned to poetry in his later life, and always maintained the poignancy of his early work. His greatest work - La Juene Parque - is a testament to his complete command of the French language and its great poetic fluency.

Nietzsche and the Literary

I take the German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to be one of the true early literary Philosophers. His ideas have sparked considerable controversy, and have indeed been associated with many unsavory moments in political history. But his thought is very much intended, I believe, to spark debate. He was familiar with the writings of Baudelaire, who also courted the controversial. Nietzsche's work in texts such as The Birth of Tragedy simply swim in the passionate execution of language in a very poetic and stylistic fashion. His distinction between the Dionysian and the Apollonian (a distinction, at heart between desire and restraint) has didactic resonances, but should rather be read as a poem might be read - for enjoyment and aesthetic appreciation. Nietzsche was also aware of Holderlin's work, and importantly struck up a correspondence with August Strindberg. These two writers have been covered below in this blog, and are important for understanding madness as it expresses itself in literature. Nietzsche's own madness, reputedly cause by a syphilitic condition, was to mark the end of an amazing and indeed controversial career as a thinker. And this is how we should take Nietzsche, as one to spark debate and controversy, not one to take didactically.

Dante Alighieri - Inferno

Dante has always captivated me. His most profound text, I believe, is his Inferno. Part of a trilogy (Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso), the work is a literary exploration of hell as it is conceived in the Christian tradition. The poem, written in the terza rima form, is a powerful evocation of the torments that humans are prone to encounter. Its power, I believe, lies in the poem's depiction of suffering, and the many forms it can take. Dante, accompanied by his guide Virgil, enters hell to find a sprawling labyrinth of sin, decrepitude, and ultimately suffering. The poem is not simply, however a bleak exploration of the darker side of humanity. It has a dignity and sense of ultimate redemption which guides the reader through the torments they are reading of, and takes them on a journey to a certain appeasement of their own suffering. In this, Dante has constructed a sort of map you might call it - a map of (dis)ease, that has, at its heart, an ultimate salvation.

Interview on Radio National's 'All in the Mind'

In September I was interviewed on Radio National for the show 'All in the Mind' hosted by Natasha Mitchell. The interview itself was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. We covered my book, Diary of a Schizophrenic, my PhD and my life with schizophrenia. It felt such a relief to finally have my battle with schizophrenia contribute in a substantial way to the public debate regarding the condition. One of the reasons I chose to pursue schizophrenia as a topic for my PhD was to help change public perceptions about the condition, and to help loosen the stigma that surrounds it.

I thought the show was very professionally put together. I had some music I selected (some Phillip Glass and Arvo Part) played to accompany some of the readings. I read from my diary, read a few poems, and delved into the philosophical intricacies of my PhD research.

It makes the long journey of the PhD seem utterly worth it, to have it enter the public domain, and hopefully make a difference.

You can download the interview, and see a few posted comments from listeners, on the ABC Radio National website:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2010/3011065.htm

I believe the interview may also be available as free download on itunes.

I hope now to turn this public exposure into the potential to help effect real change in perceptions of psychosis.

Victorian Premiers Literary Awards Dinner

Last week my wife and I attended the Victorian Premiers Literary Awards Dinner. My wife was convening judge for the Young Adult Fiction Prize. This is the second year we have attended, and a very enjoyable evening was had. The food was exquisite, the company very personable, and the presentations themselves were a real hoot. Each short list was performed as a musical comedy piece, which entertained the crowd no end. The speeches themselves by the winning authors were on the whole short, amusing, moving and at times inspiring. To see awards going to unpublished manuscripts, and seeing the look of utmost excitement on the winning authors face was quite a treat, and well worth being in attendance.

There were some real poignant, clever and biting speeches which gave a real insight into the minds of the winning authors. Awards such as these real change lives. One sentiment stuck in my mind. It went something like, 'its not the money or the fame which are important for awards such as these, but the opportunity to write one more book'.

Congratulations to all the winners, and looking forward to reading about those next books.

Writers Festival Wrap Up

The launch of my book, Diary of a Schizophrenic, at the Melbourne Writers Festival, couldn't have gone any better. Everything came together on the day. We started with a speech prepared for the occasion by Dr Matthew Sharpe. The speech was brilliantly read by Stu Hatton. Dr Sharpe's speech was eloquent and indeed moving, and I am grateful to him for spending the time to write such considered words. I then gave my speech, which went as smoothly as could be expected. I spoke of my life since the writing of the diary and some of the successes I have enjoyed. I then read a few selections from the diary, and finished with a few poems.

We estimated there to be about 70 people in attendance, which was great. After the readings I signed some books and answered a few questions. Its was great chatting to people and hearing their interests and concerns about schizophrenia.

The venue (Feddish at Federation Square) was the perfect back drop to really have an enjoyable day. My family was there, as were many of my friends, and I am delighted I could contribute some small thing to the cultural milieu of Melbourne during that important week of the festival.

And yes, if you weren't there, you can easily buy a copy of the book on Amazon.

Launch at the Melbourne Writers Festival

On Friday the 3rd of September I launch my book, Diary of a Schizophrenic, at the Melbourne Writers Festival. This has been a long held dream of mine, to participate in this festival, which I have attended over many years. The book itself is very close to my heart, and to see it gain a wider audience gives me a great sense of satisfaction. You can read blog entries below about the book, but in essence it is a dairy I kept in 1998 during a schizophrenic episode. A lot has happened in the meantime. I have passed a PhD, become married, become a father and had a rich working life. But most of all, I believe, I have lived, and in doing so given the book an added vitality which hopefully will serve it well.

At any rate, here are the details of the launch:

Date: Friday, the 3rd of September, 2010

Time: 11.30am - 12.30pm

Venue: Feddish, a bar at Federation Square, Melbourne , Australia

Attendance is free. You can buy the book, and I'll even sign it for you! Feel free to read below more about the book, how it came about, and its context in my life.

Hope to see you there.

Schizophrenia and Creativity

There is a strong and well documented link between the vicissitudes of schizophrenia and creative and cultural production. While all instances of schizophrenic psychosis do not inevitably lead to creative outcomes, there have been some important and famous examples. My last post detailed the work of Karl Jaspers, and his examination of the two highly influential artists - Holderlin and Strindberg. Holderlin's fragmentation in poetry, and his disconnected images have influenced whole generations of poets, most notably (I believe) the modernists. Heidegger's interest in Holderlin has given his poetry a cultural significance that is of great importance for understanding the intersection of creativity and schizophrenia.

What is it about schizophrenia that lends itself to creativity? One important aspect of the condition is what is diagnostically known as 'loosening of association'. Words and concepts can combine in the speech and writing of schizophrenics in ways of association that are highly unusual. In refractory schizophrenics, these associations lead to word-salad type expressions that run counter to meaning. In some schizophrenics however, this unusual and loosened conceptual play can lead to quite successful creative outcomes. Writing, especially in mediums such as poetry, associations of words and concepts has to be loosened via an imaginary obfuscation which gives a pleasant unusualness. With the right vocabulary, this unusualness can lead to expression of beauty which are at the heart of poetry. Schizophrenics are in a perfect position to capitalise on this linguistic gymnastics, due to the above mentioned symptom - loosening of association.

There may be other aspects of schizophrenia that lend the condition to acts of creativity. I will leave these to further blog posts in the future.

Karl Jaspers

In my PhD I looked at the philosopher and psychiatrist Karl Jaspers. Jaspers was important to my work, as he was medically trained in psychiatry, but held a deep interest in the cross-over between schizophrenia and creativity. His studies into the poet Friederich Holderlin and the playwright August Strindberg have been very important into my own studies into schizophrenia. Holderlin was very concerned with the world of Greek antiquity in his poetry, and through his schizophrenia, he came to believe that this world was a truly existing one. Martin Heidegger famously took an interest in the work of Holderlin, and this interest helped to ground his friendship (to an extent) with Jaspers. Strindberg, who also suffered from a deep schizophrenia, came to prominence through such plays as Miss Julie and The Father. He recorded his schizophrenic thinking in his work Inferno, and the document is important in understanding schizophrenic modes of being. Jaspers was well ahead of his time in examining these two seminal artistic figures. Even to diagnose them both as schizophrenic was ahead of its time - the diagnosis of schizophrenic cases was then, as it is now, a very controversial area of inquiry.

Jaspers gives a solid medical grounding to his work, and this gives his corpus a clarity which is invaluable into understanding creative manifestations of schizophrenia. Jaspers should be a first point of reference to anyone interested in how cultural production can be underpinned by schizophrenic processes.

Marcel Proust - In Search of Lost Time

There was quite an extended time, when asked who was my favourite author, I would say 'Marcel Proust'. His major work, In Search of Lost Time (also translated as Remembrance of Things Past) is a monumental work. One of the longest novels in world literature, it is an epic in a different sense to War and Peace. We might call it an aesthetic epic. This is one of the key narrative devices that Proust employs - an exploration of the arts and culture. Swann, one of the main protagonists, at one point hears a phrase from a sonata being played by a pianist at a soirée, and becomes obsessed. This concern with art is paramount for Proust. Proust had a passion for the English aesthete John Ruskin, who himself was a considerable dilettante who dedicate his life to the exploration of art. In Proust's In Search of Lost Time, people are continually being compared to classic works of art, as artists play their way around the stage of this sprawling drama. But it is a drama that is in a sense gentle and soothing (to an extent). I feel the book has a soporific quality. This normally would be said to detract from a book, but the kind of sleep it induces is one of those blissfully calm sleeps that one has a Sunday morning while it is raining outside. This brings me to the second quality of the book - and that is the poetic quality. Their are touching and moving descriptions of light playing amongst trees, wind rustling leaves, moonlight on still nights, and all the sorts of things that the poets of the ages have sung about. This combination of aesthetics and poetry makes In Search of Lost Time a powerful document. But a third ingredient elevates this text to greatness. And that is the psychological insight Proust employs to gather around his characters and their various forays into human drama. Character's words, actions and behaviours are imbued with a sharp clarity of description that gives each a wonderful human quality - a quality that all epic texts display.

Overall In Search of Lost Time stands above almost all of the great works written in the last hundred years. It is an achievement that will defy what time can bring down.

Octavio Paz

I count Octavio Paz as one of the most influential writers to my own writing that I have so far encountered. His poetry is technically proficient, inspirational and unusual enough to let him stand as one of the great poets of world literature. But his oeuvre includes so much more. Literary studies, political writing, explorations of aesthetics and art are all inclusive in this great man's contribution to world letters.

His great poem I believe is 'Sunstone'. A sprawling aesthetic vision, it takes the reader to where they most want to go - that is through the clouds and into what is beyond. My favourite prose work of Paz's is Alternating Currents. It combines thought, words and concepts in usual and delightful ways, and explores literature and art in such a bold and assured way that one is only swept along with delight.

It all started for Paz in his grandfather's library where he was able to read extensively as a young boy. The depth of his learning and poetic voice no doubt stem from this time.

Paz showed courage to resign from his post as a Mexican diplomat in protest of the deaths of Mexican students by government hands.

Paz's award of the Nobel Prize is only a small testament to his outstanding achievement. It is the assuredness of his writing, particularly of his poetry, which really strikes one. In fact even his prose has a poetic brilliance which distinguishes this man as a poet foremost (he thought so himself) and otherwise a writer of great intelligence.

Arvo Part

The Estonian composer Arvo Part has always been for me an exemplar of what can be achieved post the fragmentation and atonality of modernism. Part, in his early compositions, worked closely with the techniques of Schoenberg and the dissonance which his program encompasses. But what occurred next was to move music in a new and logical (yet undiscovered) direction. Part repatriated the tonal and harmonious, and did so still (somehow) with elements of atonality lingering in the shadows. This seems like a simple synergy of what came before with what was contemporaneous. But a successful combination of these elements had not been achieved with such popular appeal.

Pieces such as Spiegal im Spiegal give a light and harmonious dance that please the ear with their rounded and polished sounds. Alternatively, pieces such as Lamentate and Miserere almost assault the ear with a harsh brilliance that disturbs as it delights. Perhaps Part's greatest work, Cantus in Memoriam of Benjamin Britten bridges the gap, and moves with a tension and indeed ugliness that brushes the sublime and yet is grounded in the commonplace.

Part should be savoured for his achievement. He has once again allowed us to believe in beauty, but in a Baudelairian sense that touches what is uncomfortable, but still very much worth attaining.

Huysmans - A Rebours

Joris-Karl Huysmans' novel A Rebours (Against Nature) is a classic of decadent literature. Its dark pessimism (partly inspired by Schopenhauer) is striking in its literary expression. Huysmans is concerned with what is deeply ambiguous about the human condition, and the work shocks as it delights.

It was A Rebours that shot Odilon Redon to fame. It was the first time Redon's work had received such wide exposure. The reason Huysmans included Redon in his work was that it exemplified perfectly the strangeness and disconnection that Huysmans was attempting to imbue in A Rebours.

Another important figure of nineteenth century French artistic culture, Charles Baudelaire, finds his way into the pages of this beguiling text. Huysmans first work, a collection of prose poems, was said to be very much influenced by Baudelaire. As with Redon, Baudelaire gives voice to the darker side of humanity, and does so in a wonderfully extravagant literary way. Baudelaire shocked, just as Huysmans was to, and therein lies the latters interest.

Other notable figures of French letters at the time find there way into A Rebours. Stephane Mallarme is discussed at length, as is Paul Verlaine. Mallarme is much preferred by Huysmans - Verlaine is accused of being derivative. A further interesting figure to appear is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is very interesting in terms of this epoch of French writing. Most of those writing in Paris at the time were strongly influenced by Poe, and indeed Mallarme and Baudelaire were heavily indebted.

A Rebours is a momentous and meticulous work. In many respects it is encyclopedic in its knowledge of fields as diverse as Latin poetry and botany. Its attention to the smallest detail gives this work a breath that will astonish all those who read this wonderful text for the first time.

A Passed PhD

I have recently had word that my PhD has passed. The news presented a feeling of relief and satisfaction. Relief that a long journey is now at an end, and satisfaction at the obstacles I have overcome to achieve my goal.

My PhD is in the discipline of Philosophy, and examined the topic of schizophrenia. This was an important choice for me to write on schizophrenia, as I suffer from schizophrenia myself. I feel my philosophical work on schizophrenia has been given greater insight by my personal experiences into the condition.

The thesis looked at theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Karl Jaspers, Gilles Deleuze and Luce Irigaray. It also used the thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Martin Heidegger to interpret what in fact schizophrenia is.

I hope this achievement can give hope to others suffering from schizophrenia, that success in life is possible despite the impediments that schizophrenia presents.

Diary of a Schizophrenic

My book, Diary of a Schizophrenic, has recently been released as a paperback. The book was written during a schizophrenic episode I had in 1998. The first half of the book was written while I was ill, but the second half was written during the recovery which followed. I am proud of this book, for a number of reasons. Firstly it gives a positive outcome for a very negative experience. Anyone who has experienced a schizophrenic episode knows how debilitating it can be. Secondly, the initial release of the e-book, and now the paperback, occurred during my candidature for a PhD. My PhD is on schizophrenia (in philosophy), and so I thought it important to give hope to those suffering schizophrenia that success is possible after an episode. And I might add, it took some courage to go public during a degree which is so important to me.

The book is interesting because it does show the hallmarks of psychosis (delusion, avolition, anhedonia), but it is on the whole very clearly written. It delves quite extensively into literature and art, and mentions a whole host of the classics such as Homer's Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, John Milton's Paradise Lost and Goethe's Faust. It mentions many classic authors such as Walt Whitman and William Blake. I was about to commence my honours year at university, and my thesis was to be on Ludwig Wittgenstein, so I write quite extensively about him. Many artists are mentioned, and trips to galleries and plays detailed. Overall I would call it an aesthetic book.

Things have gone pretty well for me subsequent to this episode. I am now married with a son. My poetry has been published in a number of good journals, which you can find in other blog entries below. I have had academic articles published (again see below), and I am working and am generally enjoying life.

Now time for a bit of promotion. You can buy a copy of my book from a number of places. Amazon in the UK are selling it, as are Amazon in the US. Books on Board are selling the e-book, as are Amazon in the US (as a Kindle book). Chipmunkapublishing are the publishers of the book, and you can get copies of the paperback or e-book by going to their website. Just click on any of the above links you'll get to the respective shops. The book may also be ordered in from any bookshop.

If you choose to buy the book, I hope you enjoy it. As I said it has given a very negative experience a very positive outcome. I hope the book can work to help diminish some of the stigma surrounding mental illness in society.

Pablo Neruda

I have only recently come across the work of Pablo Neruda, which saddens me. A work so vibrant and unusually original should come early in one's life, so as to be savoured through the years.

And what I find in Neruda's work is a sadness - a sadness that has an intensity that bends the language. It is not a despairing sadness, but a sweet sadness that all great poetry possesses.

I also find his poetry strangely apolitical (from what I have read, which is a small selection to be sure). This was a strange discovery, as his life was very political indeed, making his being awarded the Nobel a controversial choice.

But most of all I like where Neruda takes you. It is an elsewhere that is perhaps outside time and place, and is somewhere all poets would like to be.

Launch of Sketch

On Thursday I attended the launch of issue two of Sketch, a journal in which I have two poems. Sketch is a publication featuring poetry, digital design, photography, fiction, and is a very attractive publication. The launch was held at Chaise Lounge, a bar in Melbourne's CBD. The night was welcomed in by a cool band, with an excellent vocalist. The bar had a cocktail specifically designed for the launch, which I thought was a touch of class.

It was my honour to read first. It was quite a large gathering, so I held back my nerves. My readings went well, and the others that were to follow gave me gave me a great sense of the quality of the contributors. Issue two of Sketch had submissions from as far afield as Europe and America, which I thought was impressive for a second edition.

The link here will take you to Sketch's website, where if you are interested, copies may be ordered.

A good night was had by all. The band rounded out the night. I took great advantage of the special price for the house red, and stumbled home to my goodly wife.

Lorca

Federico Garcia Lorca stands at the top of Spanish literature. And for very good reason. He mastered two distinct and at times diametrically opposed styles of poetry. The first is the dreamy, almost sea inspired (it seems) style that he perfected in poems such as 'Nocturnal Air' written in 1919. In these poems his constant reference to the moon, hearts, shadows, fountains and the like, gives each poetic expression a sense of the oneiric. It is my belief that all great poets imbue this sensibility into their work at some time.

The other style is more intellectual, jarring, and uncomfortable. The poems which spring from this muse can be found in his Poet in New York. It is my guess that such poems were inspired and influenced by his relationship to Dali and the Surrealism that shaped Dali's own oeuvre. Associations in these poems are odd and out of place. The moon and shadows still find their way into these creations, but more common are the 'tapeworms', 'wounded cow's horns', and 'horse's eyes' that jolt you rather than send you into a comfortable calm. Lorca is perhaps more technically accomplished in these later poems, but it will be the 'dream-style' poetry (as we'll call it) that will cement his place in the cannon of world literature.

New Beginnings

Apologies for the length of time it has taken me to post a new blog. I have been finishing my PhD, which is now handed in. I now have time to devote to other writings, such as this one.

I am also pleased to announce that my book, 'Diary of a Schizophrenic' (published through Chipmunkapublishing) is now available as a Kindle book on Amazon in the US. This gives me great satisfaction, as it was written during a very difficult time. I am pleased that this difficulty has eventually led to such a positive outcome. Thank you to Chipmunka for their support of the project.

I have also had some poems published in the time since my last blog. The journals Page Seventeen, Pendulum, Unusual Work and Mascara Literary Review have picked up and published poems of mine. The Mascara poems are published online, which you can view here. I also have a poem coming out in the new edition of Sketch (out shortly).

Anyway, you'll here from me again soon.