I pray for a day of hard writing.
A day to move past deep desire long and vigorously nurtured.
To write in the liberty of . . .
To write in Liberty . . .
To write Liberty . . .
To Liberty
Where ambition and pursuit no longer mask themselves as fuel but reveal themselves as addictions.
I pray for a day of hard writing.
To be overwhelmed not by inadequacies
because this is not the passive act of being overwhelmed
this still offers claims at control and prescribing uncalled for boundaries.
Rather be overwhelmed
and pray for a day of hard writing
where she suddenly appears in simply lines.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
A Day of Hard Writing
After Postmodernism?
Sorry this is a lame post considering I haven't posted in so long but for those of you not up on the movers and shakers in current philosophy check out these clips from youtube featuring Slavoj Zizek. Enjoy (especially the bedroom scene ;))
Philosophy and Late Capitalism
Zizek!
Hopefully more original content to come!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
I Don't Believe It
Perhaps many people who know me would assume this, but coming to this conclusion was no simple formality. I am, I believe by temperment, a person who hesistates at putting firm stakes in the ground. In most matters I get pulled in by the validity and limitations of various positions regarding the same issue and at the best of times can act as mediator between opposing sides. At the worst of times this can lead to a general sense of ambivalence. This can be frustrating for myself and others (eh, rudy).
Developing the character of Isaakii in August 1914, Alexander Solzhenitsyn writes,
He was confused by the plethora of contending truths and agonized at the fact that each of them seemed so convincing. [At university] he was given Lavrov and Mikhailovsky to read and - how true they seemed to be. Then he read Plekhanov, and there was truth again - and so beutifully consistent. Kropotkin also went straight to his heart and was no less true. And when he came to read Vekhi, he shuddered - it was the complete reverse of all he had read before, yet true, piercingly true!
For better or worse this is how I have responded to many varied and diverse texts and ideas.
In reading the Quran I carried much of this thinking with me. I found in the Quran many expressions which, as a Christian, I could offer full assent to. However, I came to a section which drove home the point about recognizing or denying God's revelation (see the section entitled "The Heights").
Who is more wicked than the man who invents falsehoods about God or denies his revelations?
However, as I mentioned in my old blog (http://www.angelfire.com/indie/faith/blog/) the Quran places firm restrictions on how I can understand the revelation of who Jesus is. I don't know enough about Islam to know the extent to which such texts can be and are interpreted however I feel that without denying those aspects which accord with the Christian Bible I must reject the Quran as authoritative revelation. Again, it may be that for many Christians this would seem a matter of course. And I must re-iterate that much in the Quran resonates with what I recognize as truth. However, I believe that in rejecting the Quran as a whole as divine revelation I hope that I am given it the respect that it is due. The question I would ask to anyone who may be reading this is whether I would be respecting the message of the Quran by saying that God is Three-in-One and that Allah is One and Muhammed is his prophet? I'd love some feedback.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Oh Canada II
Perhaps this store front sign on Main St in Hamilton gives some clarification to Canadian identity. The sign reads
The Multicultural Friendship Centre Inc.
Members Only
That still makes me laugh out-loud.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Oh Canada
Realizing how flashy the Declaration of Independence is I thought I would try to dig up some primary sources for Canada's history. I held on tightly for inspiration and insight. But, so . . . so boring. Now I understand these are political documents but where is the vision that forged Canada? No wonder Americans know there history so much better. Their texts are a pretty interesting read. Now I am sure we have our share. However, they are not, as of yet, in our shared consciousness. Where are they!? Do we have any? Here's the link where I got some of my sources.
http://www.canadiana.org/citm/primary/primary_e.html#cd
Thursday, June 22, 2006
The Writing on the Wall
I was recently reminded of a strange cultural phenomenon of North American men (and perhaps women but I hardly think it is equivalent), the bathroom wall. I went to a warehouse for a pick up and had to use their bathroom. Sometimes I try to anticipate how bad these bathrooms would be. But it had been awhile since I last encountered a bathroom with such an elaborate fresco. The usual suspects were there. Scattered were various phone numbers offering various services. There were several crudely drawn images of naked women with a bear minimum anatomical representation. Then there were the penises (peni?). They were disembodied, pointed straight up and given faces and a turban (with a stereo-typical “East Indian” look). The caption beside one read, "A new Canadian."
Now were does one start in commenting on a bathroom wall? What struck me in this instance was just what men must think about their penises (I'm entering this on my Pocket PC and for efficiency it automatically suggests words I have used before and so now whenever I start with the letters "pe" it suggests “penises”)? I always got the impression that we were rather fond of that particular body part, but the way it was employed here or in derogatory language it appears that we actually think very little of it.
Perhaps the question can be answered by turning the perspective around. What do men think about immigrants?
Immigrants often look and act differently than we are accustomed to. They may not deal with situations as we think they should. This difference, viewed as a foreign or uninvited presence, can easily be treated with fear or mistrust as we cannot predict or control all the actions of these people. This uninvited guest poses no immediate threat but can affect various aspects of our life. From here it is often a short step to outright hostility fuelled by the belief that we are protecting what is good and right in the face what seeks to destroy. The immigrant, perhaps like the penis, can often be treated like the enemy within.
As the bathroom wall demonstrates sexuality is intensely objectified in our culture detached from holistic world-view. I do not believe that men have integrated their sexuality and so, being foreign to them, it often becomes the plane of violence.
Sexuality is so close to holiness, something so intimate but so foreign, so powerful, and so beyond control.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
A Body of Work
I thought that for my first blog I would post a recent reflection on writing (sorry for the accidental alliteration . . . ahhhhh . . . anyway). A major reason why I continue to maintain a blog and website is so that I have a forum to explore my thoughts and ideas in writing.
What they tell me is that a story needs a structure and that finding that structure is crucial to the existence of the story. I am sure that in many ways this structure has been likened to a body. A body, a human body, may be born in love, hate, passion, or indifference. But it is always born in union; in penetration and reception, in giving and receiving. For this reason perhaps stories too may be born in an author’s rape of its subject. Or perhaps the story was conceived casually, almost mechanically. Like children born in these circumstances, the fruit may even turn out to be good stories.
Now if the story is the child, the body to be born, as an author who is my lover? Is it life, ideas, society, or God? In love there are no neutral participants, but this is also the crux, there are participants. Love is not a solo act and neither are stories. I know some stories have come out of hatred for life, ideas, society, or God as they have come from innumerable other emotions which drive us into each other’s arms. I suppose that if any of what I am writing is true, then I am aware enough to choose how I will approach my lover whether I will attempt woo or wield her. I am approaching 30 and feel that just now am I realizing that I may not love people. This is an age where if I were to be a successful writer I should at least be published or locally recognized by now. But if I am learning just now that I may not love the one who will bear a story for me how long will it take to reach the sort of intimacy in which we might enter the marriage bed? Or maybe I have gotten it wrong. Perhaps I am the one who warded of the advances of life, ideas, society, and God. Maybe they are seeking intimacy with me that I may bear them a story honouring to them. How much longer then? I know this much, I am beginning to long for the story and so perhaps I should pray for the lover.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
