Launch of A Schizophrenic on Artaud at Readings

I am pleased to announce that my new book, 'A Schizophrenic on Artaud' will be launched at Readings in Carlton. Come along for free wine. The book will be launched by Dr Martin Plowman, and I will be giving a speech as well. Here are the details:

Location: Readings bookstore, 309 Lygon street Carlton.
Date: Monday the 16th of April
Time: 6:30pm.

Here is the link to the Readings website for further details of the launch:

http://www.readings.com.au/event/paul-fearne-book-launch-of-a-schizophrenic-on-artaud

Thank you, and see you there!

A Schizophrenic on Artaud (Paperback)

I am pleased to announce that the paperback of my new book A Schizophrenic on Artaud has now been released. Artaud, writing in the early to mid parts of the 20th century in France, had great impact on the cultural meileu of the time. He suffered from schizophrenia which was to make his life fraught with difficulties. He was in about 20 silent films, but truly made his mark through his writing. His work The Theatre and its Double was to gain him a substantial readership.

My work is a poetic reflection in Artaud's life and work. I used my own insight into my schizophrenia to shape the book. It reads in poetic prose, and also explores the literature of the French epoch of that time, as well as other points in history and other literatures of other countries.

The book is published by Chipmunkapublishing, and is available through Amazon.

You can buy a copy here at the Amazon site.

Hope you enjoy it!

A Schizophrenic on Artaud (Kindle Edition)

My new book, A Schizophrenic on Artaud, has now been released in the Kindle format. For me it was fascinating journey to write the book, exploring my own condition while delving into Artaud's work, and our shared interest in literature. Artaud lived at a time when to suffer from schizophrenia was much harder than it is today. His work shocks, and it also comforts. The amazing linguistic flexibility he had was a really credit to his genius. He stands as an example of what can be achieved despite very trying conditions.

You may buy my book through Amazon here, and download to your Kindle or iPad.

Hope you enjoy the book!

A Schizophrenic on Artaud

My new book has been released! It is a poetic exploration of the life and work of the French writer Antonin Artaud. Artaud suffered from schizophrenia, but was still able to produce a number of seminal books, including The Theatre and its Double. His work is now considered to have entered the cannon of French letters. His life was one of the highest degrees of suffering. His condition led him to situations that are almost unknown today. My book, A Schizophrenic on Artaud, is written by a fellow sufferer who wanted to bring a self reflexive insight to create a work that would be in the spirit of Artaud's writing. My publisher, Chipmunkapublishing, has released the book initially as an ebook, with the paperback to follow. My ebook is available here for purchase!

Reflections on Artaud

Artaud has always fascinated me. Writing in the first half of the twentieth century, Artaud was to captivate the literary milieu of his time. His schizophrenia was at its worst during the German occupation of France, when he was institutionalised. The appalling suffering of this time was alleviated to an extent when a doctor running a clinic in the free zone heard of Artaud's plight and had him transferred. Artaud's best known text, The Theatre and its Double, was a poetic and indeed great exploration of theatre practices, and has come to be seminal in the performance of theatre around the world. My book on Artaud, entitled A Schizophrenic on Artaud, interweaves aspects of his life and work in a poetic rendering that does justice to the spirit Artaud wrote in. My publisher, Chipmunkapublishing, has just released the ebook. Stayed tuned to this blog for further details.

August Strindberg (B)

August Strindberg came to my attention a few years ago at an academic philosophy conference. I was giving a paper on Vaslav Nijinsky, the dancer, who suffered from schizophrenia, and who kept a diary during his initial onset. My own diary, Diary of a Schizophrenic, kept during the onset of my condition 12 years ago, has been published by Chipmunkapublishing in the UK, and was launched last year at the Melbourne Writers Festival. But at the paper, there was an academic there who asked if I had heard of August Strindberg. Strindberg had written a book called Inferno, based on a diary he kept. Strindberg was at this time a famous playwright, but turned from his literary pursuits to pursue chemistry. The book Inferno details a descent into what seems to be a psychotic way of thinking and behaving, and provides a great wealth of material for those wishing to study literary expressions of schizophrenia. There are some who argue that Strindberg accentuated his condition for literary reasons, but I intend to explore this issue, arguing that Strindberg was indeed a sufferer, though not as refractory as many who have been unfortunate enough to endure the strictures of this horrible condition.

2011 Launch Party for the Melbourne Writers Festival

On Saturday evening, my wife and I attended the launch party for the 2011 Melbourne Writers Festival. This was special for me. It marks a year since the launch of my book, Diary of a Schizophrenic, at the festival last year. A lot has happened in this year. I have written another book, and have become very excited about where my writing is taking me. We both feel like writers now, my wife and I, and this life direction is giving us both a sense of new found enjoyment.

The launch party was quite full, with lots of new and budding authors all eager to make their mark. Their was some very good hair, as all writers festivals should have. But there was a real and palpable sense of what is possible through the written word. Let's hope we never lose that.