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.

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).