Friday, June 19, 2009
Surranachronism-Literarydiscussion
I am interested in disputing the characteristic cliches of English literary taste, many of which emerge in the review by Mark Thompson of the recent complete edition of the works of the Serbian author Danilo Kis. Mark, who is a conformist historian and not a literary critic, regards himself as an authority of the works of Kis and confidently dismisses 'Garden, Ashes' as overripe, overlooking the Nobel prizewinner Josef Brodsky's estimate of it as a 'lyrical masterpiece'. 'Self-indulgent' would be the English cliche here and Thompson jumps into it with alacrity. Thompson assures his readers that nobody in England reads Kis, a statement that might put us in mind of a possible remark by Stalin, that nobody read Mandelstam (he was banned at the time). Despite Thompson's certainty that, given his knowledge of Serbo-Croat, he is the sole survivor Kis reader in England, the fact remains that I have read Kis's work with absorption and pleasure for thirty years. Thompson manages to write a lengthy (and stereotypical) article about Kis without even once mentioning either Kis's fascination with the central figure of the father, or Kis's acknowledged debt to the novelist who influenced him above all others - Bruno Schulz, the creator of ironic hyperbole and author of 'The Street of Crocodiles'.
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I always liked and admired Kis's fiction, especially those first paragraphs of his book "Garden, Ashes" and the whole consept and idea pervading his "Encyclopedia of the Dead". I will come to him later on in full discussion. Nelly
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have not read the work of Kis, I was interested in the discussion and looked up an interview he gave, (A Conversation with Danilo Kis" by Brendan Lemon, a 1984 interview:http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/interviews/show/58)the content of which links with aspects of my own interests in writing - the central role and influence of the father and also the influence of dreams for the writer.
ReplyDeleteVery thought provoking.
Maria
Maria, Thanks for your message. I'm quite preoccupied also with the theme of the father in fiction - in 'Garden, Ashes' there is a crazed, overbearing father who periodically appears and disappears in astonishing ways. Kis himself was strongly influenced by the Polish Modernist writer Bruno Schulz, in whoise fiction, the father - if anything - is even more predominant. In his 'The Street of Crocodiles' this father reaches an almost Messianic intensity and ambition. Schulz's focus in his fiction was 'to mature into childhood'. Tragically, he was shot in the street by a Nazi and also his final novel 'The Messiah' was lost, despite rumours that the manuscript still exists in a KGB file somewhere in Russia! Another author who concentrates on the father figure is the Victorian George Meredith, particularly in 'The Adventures of Harry Richmond'. Which fiction are you reading to follow this theme at the moment? Cheers, Andrew
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteThe works you cite are very interesting. The concept of maturi9ng into childhood is very interesting and reminds me of a reference I heard to ‘second naivety.’
In my own writing, themes relating to how we are influenced in our lives emerged early. Some of the first pieces I wrote during A215 were spontaneous reflections on the tremendously positive effect my father and grandfather had in relation to education. This positive influence and effect was thrown into relief by some of the ‘maltreatment’ I recall experiencing during school days. Nevertheless, the positive effect was obviously more powerful as I carried on despite the negativity. I used a related theme in my ECA for A215 which reflected on the thread of influence from my grandfather through my father and onto where my own daughters found themselves at university.
A consideration of two other factors also emerged as I wrote pieces relating to this theme and reflected on my father and grandfather: the flaws within influential characters -my father’s amazing influence and yet his inability to achieve anything in the same area for himself. And the way in which my brother and myself were influenced by my father, but my sisters were not. These realisations provide possible avenues for further writing.
My reading is not so focused on the theme in a pure sense, although I tend to select literature which is heavily focused on psychological aspects of character rather than plot. This links with the idea of some sort of quest for understanding which links with themes emerging in my writing. I think that I write unconscious of theme but find it fascinating to look over work and consider what has emerged. Recent reading of contemporary works has included The Archivist, a first novel by Martha Cooley which threads together narratives relating to T.S Eliot and letters from Emily Hale and a narrative based on the life and experience of the protagonist and his wife, a poet, drawing parallels between experiences within both lives.
The work of Sylvia Plath and the many references to her relationship with her father is something I return to frequently and recently found the Poetry season on BBC 4 valuable in stimulating ideas for poetry, especially the programmes referencing landscape and poetry. Plath was featured in one of the programmes.
This response has become rather too focused on my own writing but thank you for stimulating reflection. Reading about the works you cite motivates broader reading.
Good wishes
Maria