Ends, Beginnings, Renewals: Holleran, Picano, Isherwood

Looks like I’m at another transition.  Yesterday I finished the first chapter of Holleran's Nights in Aruba and stopped reading the book for now.  The writing is beautiful but I'm wondering what is the point, where is it going?  Is it going anywhere?

Not much of anywhere in Chapter One.  Right at the end he joins the Army, separating him from his parents.  But this is around page 55.  The first chapter runs 44 pages (preceded by a preface)!  Over-long for me.

Whereas in Onyx by Picano—I stopped on page 75.  We know that the narrator’s long-term partner is dying of AIDS, and the narrator has started an affair with a married man, with the knowledge of the narrator’s partner—but apparently not with the knowledge of the other man's wife.

I think both Holleran and Picano must have been reading Proust -- especially Holleran.  Long sentences, long paragraphs, long chapters.  Onyx contains only three chapters in something like 365 pages!  That's comparable to what Proust did.

Holleran's sentences are beautiful, but they suspend you in a dreamy place somewhere—a lot of thinking and feeling and sensing, with not much happening.

Of course, I should talk—I'm a Wagnerian!

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Meanwhile, inspired by various South American connections, I’ve returned to a travel book by Christopher Isherwood from the late 1940s.

Isherwood says something I find wise in The Condor and the Cows.  Talking about Ecuador, Isherwood mentions that Ludwig Bemelmans had written a book to show how much he loved Ecuador and the Ecuadorians—but the Ecuadorians hated it.  He apparently loved their mischievousness—but they thought he was making fun of them.

When they learned that Isherwood was a “famous writer,” they were afraid he would do the same thing—but he saw the trap.

He realized that it was acceptable to write humorously about the great and powerful, but not about the poor and powerless; speaking that way could rob them of their dignity.  And he was careful to avoid that.

I'll have to remember this, when I finally write about my own travels.  Maybe I should only characterize the people I was traveling with, and be very careful what I say about the places I was passing through.  In any case such stories will be situated quite far in the Past, because my travels happened so long ago -- forty years ago!  How am I going to write about that??  That will take some thought.

What’s Playing This Week (7/26/13)

A catch-up on what I’ve been relaxing with this week—music, film and book.

Onyx, by Felice Picano (2001).  I had difficulty getting into this book so I returned it to the library.  I’d read to about page 75 (out of about 360).  Set in New York in 1992, this book deals with Ray and his long-term partner Jesse, who is dying of AIDS.  Ray begins an affair with a married man, with the knowledge of Jesse.

What finally finished me was some of the descriptions, which I found overdone.  I hate to criticize a writer I respect.  You may enjoy this book, and so may I—at a later time

Nights in Aruba, by Andrew Holleran (1983).  I’ve really just begun this one, and may not finish it either.  I tell my friends that Holleran’s writing is “achingly beautiful.”  But I feel the description of sun-baked Aruba so viscerally, I may have to read this one in small servings.  Actually, it reminds me of my life growing up on American military bases overseas.  The main character is a young boy in Aruba with his parents in the 1950s (his father apparently works for an oil company).

Doble o Nada (1997). An excellent Argentine film based on a whimsy involving the great 1930s tango singer Carlos Gardel.  Originally released as Sus Ojos Se Cerraron y El Mundo Sigue Andando. Also released in English as Tangos Are For Two.  Netflix only had Doble o Nada.  I thought it was great.  But you have to like tango music and singing.  The voice of Gardel (and his look-alike) was provided by the Mexican tenor Rafael Rojas (not to be confused with the model/actor of the same name).

Easy Virtue (2008). Adaptation of a play by Noel Coward (an earlier adaptation was a silent film by Alfred Hitchcock).  I liked this too, though it seemed somehow a little bit “off.”  Jessica Biel as the American wife of Ben Barnes in 1929 England.  Colin Firth as the father.  The ending may surprise…

Blood Simple (1984).  Yes, it takes me awhile to get around to seeing movies!  I thought this was very “atmospheric.”  Otherwise….I kept looking for motivations…and common sense.  The Coen Brothers “homage” to Film Noir.  I did enjoy this film…sorta.  It reminded me a bit of The Big Sleep, with Humphrey Bogart.  That plot was so convoluted that even the original author, Raymond Chandler, denied knowing who killed the chauffeur.

Anthems - Japan - Afterword

After my last post, a friend wrote me to point out that the Japanese don’t officially have a national anthem.  Nor do they have an army, or navy, or nuclear weapons; they have a “self-defense force.”  I lived on an airbase in Japan.  I knew about the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
 

And (my friend went on), produce from the Fukushima area is safe.  The government says it is, so it must be.

Well, according to Wikipedia (that source of all alleged truth), the anthem was officially proclaimed the national anthem by the 1999 Act on National Flag and Anthem.  I went back to check, on the chance that perhaps it had been proclaimed something else, maybe the Official National Patriotic Song or Tune.  But of course Wikipedia can be wrong.

I won’t say anything about nuclear weapons or Fukushima (“Fortunate Island?”); I’m not up on that.

But the comment on the “self-defense force” (and yes, the comment on Fukushima, obliquely) reminded me of the fabled indirectness (“obliqueness?!”) often attributed to the Japanese; and curiously, that reminded me of the British.

I intended, at the time, to say something about what seems to me the indirectness of the Japanese anthem.  Paradoxical, since I claimed the words were so to the point.  And yet…whereas other anthems might go on at length about the glories of their countries (not mentioning any names, but pick any one that describes, at length, vast geography or glorious history), the Japanese anthem is perhaps the shortest in its lyrics.  May your reign endure a thousand, eight thousand generations; till the pebbles grow into boulders lush with moss.  It is direct, but to me seems to understate, imply.  Perhaps that’s just my aesthetic viewpoint.

I wanted to go on and say something about indirectness in the Japanese language; but, of course, as soon as I decided to do that, I realized, alas, that I could not think of an example.  My humble inadequacy!

Still, thinking of the Japanese and the British, who I’ve often thought of together (both imperial island nations, on uneasy terms with the Powers of the Mainland)…  I’m told that Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado was a great hit in Japan (which I can’t quite imagine).  Queen Victoria allegedly was delighted to hear that Gilbert had decided to lampoon another country besides England.  Yes…

Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood describes an English friend who had to bring home news of a relative’s death and begins by saying, “There’s been a small accident,” then continues on with, “No, he was injured I’m afraid…slightly…well, a bit more seriously, actually;”  continuing on in that vein before finally admitting to the poor man’s demise.  Indirectness…

Thinking of imperial powers…and of our own fabled Pentagon chiefs who think up clinical terms like “collateral damage”…one must of course remember that indirectness can be either polite or…deceitful.

Meanwhile, I still like the Japanese anthem, whether it’s “official” or “national” or an “anthem!”

Anthems (12) – Japan

But before we get to the Mother-Of-All-Anthems (“God Save The”…um…whatever), a word about another of my favorite anthems.
 

I heard this anthem almost as early as I heard “The Star-Spangled Banner.”  When I was twelve, my mother and I traveled to a U.S. airbase in Japan to spend three years with my father, who worked for the American Red Cross serving the U.S. military.  Soon I was watching sumo wrestling festivals when I got home from school in the afternoons.  And I was won over to this anthem which is somber, solemn, gripping, imposing…unforgettable.

It’s short, and its words are simple; yet it’s controversial because of its association with the Imperial throne and the Emperor.  But it’s a beautiful anthem, and I love it.  It always calms and centers and grounds me, and makes me focus and reflect, even though I understand nothing of the words.  What Japanese I know provides no help at understanding.

“May your reign continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations; until the pebbles grow into boulders lush with moss.”

A miracle of brevity—straight to the point.  This says it all; and directly from Nature.

If I had written it, I might have only changed one thing:  “Your reign” into something more generic:  “This land.”  “This kingdom.”  “This tribe.”  “This realm.”

No—I take that back.  My ideal anthem would say something like:  “May this land promote justice and peace among peoples, and last a thousand years.”  Simply lasting a long time doesn’t make you admirable; you have to offer something worthy to humanity; although, really:  To endure a thousand years as a culture, it seems you must have had something worthy to begin with.

"A Poly Ethic and Goal"

(South Bay Poly July Newsletter)

Society stereotypes polys under the category of the “non-monogamous.”  That stereotype includes a general assumption of dishonesty, uncaring, and exploitation.  It is built on the assumption of cheating, with all that involves:  Deception, guilt, jealousy, insecurity, mistrust, and fear.

Whereas I feel that polyness is a bit like nudism:  Simply the way some people prefer to be—not because they don’t care about people; not because they’re aggressively trying to make a point with people; not because they’re trying to exploit people.  Some people are simply happier maintaining several intimate love-relationships—and want to be honest about it; and actually want to avoid hurting or exploiting people. 

I would like people to understand this.  I would like polys to achieve recognition and respect from society for the fact that they’ve tried to be honest and caring.  I would like it to be recognized that we’ve tried to listen to people and care about them—to be honest and supportive of ourselves and others.  I would like polys to be accepted as caring, honest, people of goodwill who are trying to develop mutually nurturing relationships—not cheat or exploit others.