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.