Christmas in Seoul

 

Trudeau

What future for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals? #cdnpoli #canadianpolitics #justintrudeau #election

Yoon impeachment saga

Update on the impeachment of Yoon Seok Yeol/ #윤석열 #탄핵 #koreanpolitics #yoonsukyeol #impeachment

Baram Writer (2006)

 [note: this originally appeared in Dark Sky Magazine] 

BARAM WRITER

EXT. AN URBAN WOODLAND. WINTER. LATE AFTERNOON.

Wind blows through trees, rustles dead leaves, makes branches sway in a creaking, slow dervish.

VO [male]: The wind has its own tone, its own feeling. It’s like … coldness, thinness.

It’s like hunger.

The wind has a body. The wind is someone.

JUMPCUT

EXT. A HIKING TRAIL IN THE URBAN WOODLAND. A MOMENT LATER.

A married couple walks along the trail. We see the wife, walking ahead.

VO: You’re someone. I’m someone.

Your body: petite, a source of warmth. A body to whom love is directed.

My body?

Wind.

That is, has been wind. Still feels like wind, but sometimes feels warmth.

I think this is the final state of love.

JUMPCUT

EXT. THE HIKING TRAIL. A MOMENT LATER.

A view of nearby apartment buildings. Several of the apartments, while still in somebody’s possession, lie empty. The buildings look spectral and aristocratic: the second homes of the well-to-do. The empty homes of the well-traveled.

The couple on the hiking trail, dressed in their simple clothes, look at the buildings.

HUSBAND [in accented Korean]: 열령 집. [”Ghost houses”]

WIFE: They go somewhere, maybe to Swiss.

HUSBAND: We should go on a trip sometime. Get away.

WIFE: I can’t. I have too much stress at hospital.

HUSBAND: I know. That’s why we should go. Your job is too difficult.

The WIFE looks at her HUSBAND. She sadly shakes her head.

JUMPCUT

EXT. THE HIKING TRAIL. A MOMENT LATER.

The HUSBAND follows his wife. He follows her along the trail as the cold sun sets.

VO: You walk along the trail, together today, but tomorrow, Sunday, you have to work an evening shift.

EXT. THE HIKING TRAIL. THE NEXT DAY. DUSK.

VO: I’m alone.

I walk along the trail. My daily exercise.

The scene is still, quiet. Thoughts pour through my head.

I’m worried about you. Your job is too hard. It’s affecting your health.

The sensation is like wind, a stress-wind, blowing the chemistry of the mind in circles.

Worries swirl like brittle, dry leaves.

A new sensation comes to me. It’s a sensation that combines worry and love. It is a sensation in the bones. It radiates through muscle, through organs, through eyes. It’s a reverse heat, as if the body burns from its core.

It’s more than heat. It’s an impact, evanescent in the world, it collides with our lives: an interior shake, an earthquake of marrow. It’s the wind of reality. And it has made an impact.

The body must withstand this impact. The body must marry the mind, tell itself the wind is weak, not the person it shakes.

JUMPCUT

EXT. THE HIKING TRAIL. A MOMENT LATER.

VO: The sun sets behind trees. Blackness descends upon the world.

The sun sets and the wind dies. It retreats to its apartments, its clouds.

Trump and Canada

Trump and Canadian sovereignty 

Korean impeachment crisis

The impeachment process of Yoon Seok Yeol. The process is more complicated than a simple vote— though overcoming the hurdle of that vote a major achievement.

#koreanpolitics #democracy #유석열탄핵 #탄핵 #대법원 #yoonsukyeol

YouTube:

https://youtube.com/shorts/s3-kZJxe6VQ?feature=share

Winter?

Winter in Yongin.

Cold weather is here. But it’s not as cold as several years ago, and that’s climatologically significant.

More here: Winter? Spring? — How Seasonal Patterns Are Changing

https://youtu.be/E1WpJ7Nc3to

Crisis in South Korea

Crisis in S. Korea: what next after the failed impeachment vote? #koreanpolitics #yoonseokyeol #윤석열 #국회의사당 #국회의원 

Yoon’s Utterly Collapsing Popularity

Pres. Yoon’s support is crumbling #southkorea #윤석열 #비상계엄령  #martiallaw #koreanpolitics #한동훈 #국민의힘

Martial Law 1

More abt declaration of martial law in S Korea, Pt 1 #southkorea #martiallaw #윤석열대통령 #democracy #계엄령

https://youtube.com/shorts/omzBOItP1rA?feature=share

Short lived snow

Heavy snow in Seoul — then it melted #climate impact #snowfall #서울날씨 #seoulweather #weatherchange

Peace

What is peace? #peace #meditation #seoulnature #서울산책 #명상 #평화로운 #outdoors #paix #walkingtrail

What is democracy? One

What is Democracy? Part one #democracy #trumpelection #january62021 #insurrection #capitolriots

First snowfall

First snowfall in Kyonggi-do, South Korea #snowfall #firstsnowfall #southkorea #climateimpact #첫눈

Nuclear war, part 6

Is “Limited” Nuclear War Possible? Pt. 6/end #icbm #russiaukrainewar #putin #biden #nuclearwar #nato

Is limited nuclear war possible?

How would a nuclear war that apparently started small play out?

Is “Limited” Nuclear War Possible? Pt. 4 #icbm_missile #russiaukrainewar #putin #nato #nuclearwar

Clogged expressway

Clogged expressways in Korea #traffic #expressways #rushhour #buslanes #publictransport

Construction mania

 

The rapid pace of rebuilding in Seoul #rebuilding #apartments #condoliving #seoul #gangnam #아파트 #서울

Natural gas

A Quick Reduction in Carbon Emissions? #greenerearth #naturalgas #co2reduction #environmentalscience

Trump

How did Trump appeal to American voters? #uselection #trump2024 #election2024 #trumpelection

South/ North Korean tensions

An unusual amount of tension on the Korean Peninsula #northeansoldiers #어물풍선 #nkorea #dmz #garbage

Buddhism

Eternal souls? Buddhist concepts #buddhism #lifeanddeath #reincarnation #nirvana #transmigration

North Korea

North Korea, Russia, Ukraine and their effect on northeast Asia:

https://youtube.com/shorts/8DjtLNSCApc?si=WyvtoCl-mZuyNxxQ

Hospitals

 

How much can we trust hospitals? #agingparents #hospitalcare #medicalmistakes #medicalcare #doctors

North Korea

 

What is the current situation between South and North Korea? #northkoreansoldiers #northsouthkorea

https://youtube.com/shorts/3RZhzPBSiXI?feature=share

The Dark Door Closes

The Dark Door Closes

Iran/ Israel/ America

Iran, Israel, America: What Next? #iranisraelwar #israeliranconflict #israelirantensions #uselection

Family Passages

What happens in our minds when loved ones pass away #lifestages #lovedones #familymemories #death

https://youtube.com/shorts/8O760Cx2Qdc?feature=share

Yongin

 Yongin evening 

My mother’s writing

My mother’s writing, part one

What happens?

Nature’s cycles and what happens when we die

 #deathandrebirth #naturalcycles #mortality #lifecycles

Full video at YouTube:

https://youtube.com/shorts/5kEDHlHfXRg?feature=share

Grieving

How do you express sadness in a way that’s healing? 

#grieving #familymembers #deathinthefamily #sad

https://youtube.com/shorts/VTxPGk4IWeM?feature=share

My mom’s passing

 My mom, the writer Elisabeth Harvor, passed away Oct. 8.

We had very sweet visits with her in Feb and July. She was a born artist with a remarkably creative and original mind, and will be sorely missed.

Erica Elisabeth Arendt Harvor (née Deichmann): June 26, 1936 - October 8, 2024

Phoning hospitalized parents

 

Keeping in touch with hospitalized parents #agingparents #elderlycare #familycaregiving #familycare

Medical Systems

 

How medical systems operate

 #palliativecare #agingparents #hospitals #qualityoftreatment #medicine

https://youtube.com/shorts/Sdmzi7ufwW4?feature=share

A sense of loss

 Clip from “Life/death cycles: how to cope with a sense of loss”

#lifestages #lifecycles #lifedeath #agingparents

Full video at YouTube

My mother’s poetry

 

A piece entitled My Mother, My Scalp

Aging parents

Visiting my mom just after my dad passed. Everybody who gets older goes through this; nevertheless, I find it hard to process in the sense I want to slow time down. Experience a food — or rather, sustenance? Something that requires much time for its proper digestion…?

 #familylife #agingparents #gettingolder #palliativecare

Full video (it’s very short) at YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/qUztV2_ZK8A?feature=share

Friendly cats?

Which cat is friendliest? #feralcats #farmcats #semiwildanimals #farmlife #countryside #skittishcats

Chronicles of Earthly Change

Chronicles of Earthly Change  — a personal view of climate change 

The Highly Illustrated Screenplay Novel

 A few years ago, Tom Dooley, editor of the online literary magazine Eclectica, was kind enough to publish one of my novels, a historical work entitled The Business Army. It’s about an attempt to engineer a fascist takeover in America. It’s based on fact.

I’m reworking the project, since it’s become more timely than ever.

The novel exists in two versions: as a conventional text only work, and as a new kind of hybrid graphic novel I call the illustrated screenplay novel.

To read the conventional version, go here: https://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

(Note: I have other unpublished fiction mss., including a historical novel about Juno Beach.)

*

Pitch:

Economic injustice is everywhere. The wealthy have too much, the poor too little. Unemployment is massive, and political violence is on the rise. In the midst of all this, powerful elites decide that the sitting president is too feeble to govern and democracy itself is "a problem".

*

OUTLINE – THE BUSINESS ARMY

Below are the opening pages of THE BUSINESS ARMY. This is a carefully researched yet quick-paced novel about one of the most interesting episodes of the Great Depression: the "Business Plot" against Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The novel itself is unique. It comes in both a conventional format, and also as a form of illustrated novel I call a "screenplay module novel". (It is linked to other novel projects of mine, but stands on its own as an independent manuscript.)

The novel centers on two figures: Gerald MacGuire -- an anxious, insecure, yet highly ambitious junior broker on Wall Street; just the sort of person willing to compromise his morals to get ahead -- and Smedely Darlington Butler, a Marine general who knew war but also realized the ways in which it was often manipulated by powerful interests in order to advance their own agenda ... not democracy or political ideals.

About myself: I'm an artist, writer and occasional musician/movie-maker living in South Korea. I've published in several journals, including PACIFISM21, DARK SKY, THE BROOKLYN RAIL, ECLECTICA, THE PURITAN, THIS MAGAZINE, etc. I've written and staged two plays, had films screened internationally, have had group and solo shows of my art, and had work broadcast (radio). Academically, I've written on new media, graphic fiction, Yoon Heung-gil and Thomas De Quincey, presenting papers (in person) in Berlin, Oxford, Osaka and Indonesia (via Skype in Helsinki, Kuala Lumpur and Madrid).

Finn Harvor

*

Il y a quelques années, Tom Dooley chez Eclectica a eu la gentillesse de publier un de mes romans, un ouvrage historique intitulé The Business Army. Il s’agit d’une tentative d’organiser une prise de pouvoir fasciste en Amérique. C’est basé sur des faits.

Je retravaille le projet, car il est plus que jamais d’actualité.

Le roman existe en deux versions : en tant qu'œuvre conventionnelle uniquement textuelle et en tant que nouveau type de roman graphique hybride que j'appelle le roman de scénario illustré.

Pour lire la version conventionnelle, rendez-vous ici : https://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

(Remarque : j'ai d'autres textes de fiction inédits, notamment un roman historique sur Plage Juno.)

*

Synopsis:

L'injustice économique est partout. Les riches ont trop, les pauvres trop peu. Le chômage est massif et la violence politique augmente. Au milieu de tout cela, des élites puissantes décident que le président en exercice est trop faible pour gouverner et que la démocratie elle-même est « un problème ».

*

L’ARMÉE D’AFFAIRES

Vous trouverez ci-dessous les premières pages de THE BUSINESS ARMY. Il s'agit d'un roman soigneusement étudié mais au rythme rapide, sur l'un des épisodes les plus intéressants de la Grande Dépression : le « complot commercial » contre Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Le roman lui-même est unique. Il se présente à la fois sous un format conventionnel et également sous une forme de roman illustré que j'appelle un « roman à module de scénario ». (Il est lié à d’autres de mes projets de roman, mais constitue à lui seul un manuscrit indépendant.)

Le roman est centré sur deux personnages : Gerald MacGuire, un courtier junior anxieux, peu sûr de lui, mais très ambitieux à Wall Street ; juste le genre de personne prête à compromettre sa moralité pour aller de l'avant - et Smedely Darlington Butler, un général de la Marine qui connaissait la guerre mais qui a également réalisé à quel point elle était souvent manipulée par des intérêts puissants afin de faire avancer leur propre agenda... pas cette démocratie ou ces idéaux politiques.

À propos de moi : je suis un artiste, un écrivain et un musicien/cinéaste occasionnel vivant en Corée du Sud. J'ai publié dans plusieurs revues, dont PACIFISM21, DARK SKY, THE BROOKLYN RAIL, ECLECTICA, THE PURITAN, THIS MAGAZINE, etc. J'ai écrit et mis en scène deux pièces de théâtre, projeté des films à l'international, présenté des expositions collectives et personnelles de mes art et faire diffuser des œuvres (radio). Sur le plan académique, j'ai écrit sur les nouveaux médias, la fiction graphique, Yoon Heung-gil et Thomas De Quincey, présentant des articles (en personne) à Berlin, Oxford, Osaka et en Indonésie (via Skype à Helsinki, Kuala Lumpur et Madrid).

Finn Harvor 

*

Jangma in September?!

Jangma in September?!

Life Cycles…

 The deaths of individual loved ones are very hard to come to terms with, but eventually we do. But how about the deaths of all?

#mortality #death #grieving #deathsoflovedones

Full video at YouTube: Life Cycles Individually, Life Cycles Collectively

youtu.be/C8_vCUoNPvY

September Jangma?

Jangma usually arrives in June or July. This year, it’s on repeat…

Climate Change

 Endless Summer: How weather patterns are heating up in Asia #climatechan... https://youtube.com/shorts/zHZ4KgMAwsQ?si=-bKQGxtkUpIuiEKx via @YouTube .

Climate change is here. If you live in Canada or the northern US, you haven’t felt the full brunt of it. But you will.

#GlobalWarming #ClimateCrisis #climatechange

Seoul

 The Han River Bridge 

Seoul

 33 degrees Celsius at the end of August 

Toronto

 Near Front 

Toronto

 CondoLand 

Toronto

 King Station 

Wakefield

 

The World…

Happy that my moviepoem “The World As It Is …. Now” was just selected by Almaty Underground Screening Series via FilmFreeway.com

This part of a much larger series on 21st C society tentatively titled Muddernity.

If curious, YouTube link: https://youtu.be/etylxRUePZ8?si=i6iOW29WvR3kn7JN

Criticism and principle

Good piece by Daniel Green on essay collections by Lauren Oyler and Becca Rothfeld, which have been published in the larger context of a (general) tendency in contemporary criticism toward blandness. 

Green’s essay highlights the ways in which Oyler and Rothfeld intermingle critical assessment with personal confession. This is a trend that really started to gain traction in the 1990s, and it shows no signs of going away.

Green:

But it would not really be accurate to call either No Judgment or All Things are Too Small examples of personal writing above all. Both books belong to what is now called cultural criticism, by self-identification and by a fair accounting of the subjects they address. This classification seems to fit because of the wide range of cultural objects covered (most of the essays could not properly be called "literary criticism" since works of literature are only occasionally their focus) and because ultimately each of these critics is most concerned with understanding the cultural significance of the subjects they examine, not their value as aesthetic expressions. This at first seems paradoxical given both writers' penchant for making and valorizing judgments, but the essays included in Rothfeld's book are pretty consistent with her approach elsewhere, and even Oyler's most infamous negative reviews often wander away from pure aesthetic analysis, while in other essays she is as likely to consider trends and tendencies as closely assess individual works. 

Another trend that’s emerged (and that Oyler and Rothfeld resist) is an emphasis on moral judgments — moral judgments grounded in the philosophy we should be nice to (authorial) others. This has led to a movement in review discourse away from harsh criticism. Parallel with this has been moral judgment based on the perceived personality of the author/ artist.

This context now exists everywhere. But it’s particularly acute in some national literatures. The one I’m most familiar with is Anglo Canadian literature (I read French and am not excluding it; but lettres québécoises are very much ignored by the vast majority in Cdn publishing). This trend toward studious blandness has many causes; the cutbacks in book sections sure don’t help. But in recent decades there’ve also been movements (feminism, diversity, queerness, etc.) that have shifted the centre of crit discourse (which is fine) but also shut down critiques that offend people’s feelings (more problematic). 

A very, very good example of this is the extraordinary controversy surrounding the actions of Alice Munro. What we’re witnessing (in real time, as they say on news channels) is the immolation of a writer’s body of work because she, Munro, was complicit in hiding the molestation of her youngest daughter. The issue that I think needs discussing is the book review/ academic crit industry in Canada was also frequently complicit in this coverup. 

Munro’s place in the canon has shifted dramatically in one week. But the journalists who were also complicit in this whole sad story are furiously , passively aggressive silent, hoping the career damage doesn’t spread too far; the reputation of Munro’s second husband (who committed the crimes) was protected by some of the same journos who are now wrapping themselves in flags of morality. 

A critical culture based on feelings rather than articulated aesthetic standards and principles can behave in highly unpredictable fashions. 

Trump, every time he thinks he’ll lose

 

Peace Culture

 

WHY, THE VIOLENT CULTURE?

This project merges with several other anti war projects I’ve been working on, but places more emphasis on the importance— that is, the benefit — of gaining pleasure from quotation life.

Full video at YouTube: The Drama of Peace (statement): youtu.be/vcS6aGggT1k

Well, America

 

Debate

Well, America, choose wisely

YouTube link:

https://youtu.be/0rB7z0L4iuY

Yongin

 

Military carbon emissions

 The carbon footprint of the military 

Stig Harvor

Stig Harvor, February 1, 1929 - June 13, 2024. Missed very much.

War Seasons

 An authorial moviepoem 

Heavy traffic

How can big cities better handle heavy traffic?

Traffic and its jam

Traffic and its jam

Cats!

 Semi feral cats in South Korea.

Cranes in South Korea

Cranes in the developed areas of South Korea.

Trump 2

Donald Trump’s pattern of denying that he ever loses anything…

#trump #trumpcourt #stormydaniels #trumpcase #hushmoney #trumpfelony

Full video at YouTube: « Everything’s Rigged! »

https://youtu.be/fEPj5YmYNhk

Trump

 Donald Trump’s pattern of denying that he ever loses anything…

#trump #trumpcourt #stormydaniels #trumpcase #hushmoney #trumpfelony

Full video at YouTube: « Everything’s Rigged! »

https://youtu.be/fEPj5YmYNhk

Writers as Filmmakers as Artists as Musicians 1

Increasingly one finds the phenomenon of writers who are also filmmakers. Multimedia art-making is nothing new, but it’s taken a long time to begin to gain acceptance in the stuffy, hidebound world of literary production. The trend, though, will almost certainly continue. 

And one reason for that is the trend has always existed: from Blake to Peake to the poet/painters of Joseon, artmaking and writing have always had  the potential for a symbiotic relationship. And some writers simply enjoy art-making. This was true , for example, of PK Page. 

But the trend expanded in the 20th century, as poets became singers and vice versa. From Cohen to Dylan to Mitchell to Lennon to Springsteen, there is a large number of songwriters admired precisely for the poetic sophistication of their lyrics. In the 21st century, poets sometimes branch into music long after establishing literary reputations. 

For example, Steve Heighton became serious about performing his music shortly before his death: https://youtu.be/zdGkPrvYOMI?si=8__6AYb3ltAaeA14

And auteur filmmakers have always been, by definition, writers. But how about multimedia narratives that combine several art forms into a single artistic artefact? That form could be musical/ literary or artistic/ literary; however, I think the newest territory to be discovered is combining *all* these elements; that is, a film made by an artist/writer/musician. I call this type of filmmaking the authorial movie, and have made over 1,500 of these that are specifically literature-connected. It is a major body of work.

If curious, here are a few examples:

Three Tragedies, Four Seasons (take 7)

https://youtu.be/GV2sxT5t8yg

These authorial movies tend naturally toward poetry (because of its generally shorter length). But they can take the form of short stories and novel excerpts, too.

Last Question of the Evening 4K Mar 30 20

https://youtu.be/dYR6NYukpuM

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

More about bamboo

Bamboo groves and zoning.

Aging parents, away

 Looking after aging parents from far away.

Bamboo wind

Bamboo groves are particularly nice places to experience wind, both as a visual and aural experience.

#fieldrecording #bamboogarden #bambou ##대나무숲 #명상 #meditation #naturesounds #southkorea

YouTube link; https://youtube.com/shorts/DG7PDz1I81c?si=NmoWGYYPgDUGQVGC

Trains in Japan

On why train service is so popular in Japan 

Baram V

Baram V

From a linked series of poetry films and field recordings; our world, a place of great energies. More: a place where one can intimate life and death simultaneously.

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/vbdmVtXgMvI

Spring ambient

Spring ambient from Korea 

Protecting nature

Cranes in South Korea are one species that’s benefited from improved environmental protection.

Protecting wild birds in S. Korea #koreannature #asianwildlife #wildlife #한국의야생동물 #경기도 #cranes #두루미

Boy Meets Girl After Battle 2

This poem, "Boy Meets Girl After Battle 2," was published in the online literary journal Word City. In it, I employed a childlike cadence to critique of war's devastating impact on human lives. The poem describes a girl grievously wounded by shrapnel, her home destroyed by artillery fire. Despite her injuries and the shock of her ordeal, she survives, only to be discovered by a platoon. The soldiers' reactions range from indifference to minimal kindness.

War, as we know, makes normal people callous. The work attempts to highlight the dehumanization and moral decay that can accompany war. The final soldier's search for loot amidst the chaos serves as a poignant commentary on the exploitation and disregard for human suffering that often occurs in war-torn areas. The simple, rhythmic language is intended to contrast with the grim reality of the situation.

This poem also a moviepoem . If curious, YouTube link: Boy Meets Girl After Battle (part two)

https://youtu.be/ohVwbNav880

Mountain climbing in Korea

Mountain climbing in Korea 

Airplanes and pollution

Airplanes and pollution

Aging parents and long distances

Aging parents and long distances

Paul Auster, littérature canadienne, et la cherche pour la signification

 L'écrivain littéraire coréen-américain R. W. Kwon a récemment écrit une intéressante compilation d'essais dans lesquels tous les directeurs agissent toujours de manière raisonnable et décente. C’est un bon point car ce n’est pas ainsi que les humains agissent toujours, même lorsqu’ils se targuent de leur maturité. Le critique canadien Steven Beattie a appuyé Kwon, ajoutant qu'il y a un certain lecteur qui veut des romans ennuyeux, c'est-à-dire des romans sans conflit.

L’ennui dans les essais (la plainte de Kwon) ou l’ennui dans les romans (celui de Steven) n’a rien de nouveau. Par coïncidence, disons par hasard, un romancier littéraire critiqué pour ce défaut est récemment décédé. Il s'appelait Paul Auster.

Je me souviens avoir eu une fois une conversation avec mon frère Richard au sujet du travail d’Auster. Richard a déclaré : « Ce n’est qu’une phrase laborieuse après l’autre. On se demande quand ça va s’arrêter. »

Auster lui-même a de nombreux défenseurs – ils ont tendance à être plutôt timides face aux critiques visant Auster ; une preuve indirecte que l'essentiel de son soutien se situe au niveau intermédiaire, c'est-à-dire les lecteurs qui veulent que leurs romans soient ennuyeux tout en étant classés comme de l'art ; un genre de production culturelle que j’appelle « midrature ». Et les lettres canadiennes, FWIW, en fournissent également de nombreux exemples.

Alors… que faire ? Comment pouvons-nous créer une culture littéraire qui, pour reprendre l’expression de Philip Roth, allie un grand sérieux à un grand côté ludique ?

Une partie de la réponse consiste à cesser de s’intéresser aux méthodes traditionnelles de production littéraire pour sauver la culture littéraire de ses prétentions les plus mornes. En d’autres termes, ne commettez pas l’erreur (intermédiaire) de supposer que la littérature existe uniquement ou avant tout sous la forme d’un livre imprimé offset organisé par une classe de sélection qui mystifie ses propres intérêts. Tournez-vous plutôt vers les nouveaux médias et certaines formes d’édition clandestine.

C’est exactement ce que réclamait John Metcalf. Mais il ne semblait pas tout à fait disposé à pousser l’argument jusqu’à sa conclusion logique, qui était de célébrer les écrits intéressants partout où ils étaient produits, qu’ils aient ou non le sceau de l’approbation institutionnelle.

C’est l’une des raisons pour lesquelles j’ai commencé à publier le travail de mon défunt frère sous forme de vidéopoèmes.

Exemple ici : Un poème de film sur l'hiver : le dernier univers de Richard

youtu.be/wqroSWmtJyw

Ou sous forme de parole simple : les écrits de Richard - 19/20 avril - 1

youtu.be/qssW5v-GRYw

Les critiques du Canada anglo-saxon sont particulièrement susceptibles de s’isoler de tout ce qui n’est pas « approprié ».

Il s’agit d’un angle mort dans la manière dont le Canada produit de la culture et, ironiquement, son industrie de l’édition en a payé un prix énorme ; sa part d'audience est décrite par un initié comme « la pire du monde lettré ».

Il s’agit d’une triste conséquence du fait qu’une puissance moyenne comme le Canada ne consacre pas suffisamment d’énergie à la création d’une scène culturelle véritablement démocratique et vitale. Au lieu de cela, nous sommes alourdis par des institutions qui sont instinctivement enclines à la « littérature » qui est en réalité du travail social ou une imitation édulcorée d’une littérature intéressante.

Je suppose qu’il y aura un débat intéressant sur la valeur des romans d’Auster ; Les lettres américaines sont suffisamment grandes pour pouvoir supporter un tel débat sans que les gens paniquent et deviennent vindicatifs.

Le contraire est malheureusement vrai au Canada. Le résultat est une littérature bloquée, une littérature mystifiée, une littérature moralisatrice, une littérature porteuse de messages, une littérature prudente et, oui, une littérature ennuyeuse.

Auster, Canlit, and the search for vitality

 Korean-American literary writer R. W. Kwon recently wrote an interesting take down of essays in which all the principals always act reasonably and decently. It’s a good point because it’s not how human always act, even when they pride themselves on their maturity. Canadian critic Steven Beattie seconded Kwon, adding that there’s a certain of reader that wants boring novels — that is, novels without conflict.

Boringness in essays (Kwon’s complaint) or boringness in novels (Steven’s) is nothing new. As coincidence — chance, let us say — a literary novelist criticized for having just this failing recently died. His name was Paul Auster. 

I recall once having a conversation with my brother Richard about Auster’s work. Richard said, « It’s just one plodding sentence after another. You wonder when it’s going to stop. » 

Auster himself has many defenders — they tend to be rather thin skinned about critiques aimed at Auster; indirect evidence that the core of his support is middle brow — that is, readers who want their novels to be boring yet at the same time classified as art; a genre of cultural production I term “midrature”. And Canadian letters, FWIW, also provides many examples of this. 

So … what is to be done? How can we create a literary culture that, to use Philip Roth’s phrase, combines high seriousness with great playfulness?

Part of the answer is to stop looking at traditional methods of literary production to save lit culture from its drearier pretensions. In order words, do not make  the (middlebrow) mistake of assuming literature exists only or above all in the form of an offset printed book that’s been curated by a Selector Class which mystifies its own self-interests. Look instead to new media and certain forms of underground publishing. 

John Metcalf called for just that. But he didn’t quite seem willing to take the argument to its logical conclusion, which was to celebrate interesting writing wherever it was produced, whether it had the stamp of institutional approval or not. 

This is one reason I started publishing my late brother’s work as videopoems. 

Example here: A Moviepoem about Winter: Richard’s Last Universe

youtu.be/wqroSWmtJyw

Or as straightforward spoken word: Richard's writing - April 19/20 - 1

youtu.be/qssW5v-GRYw

Critics in anglo Canada are particularly susceptible to walling themselves off from anything that’s not “proper”. 

It’s a blind spot in the way Canada produces culture, and its publishing industry has, ironically, paid a huge price; its audience share is described by one insider as “the worst in the literate world”. 

This is a sad consequence of a middle power such as Canada not placing enough energy into creating genuinely democratic and vital cultural scene. Instead, we’re weighed down by institutions that are instinctively inclined toward “literature” that’s actually social work or a watered down imitation of interesting literature. 

My guess is there will be an interesting debate on the worth of Auster’s novels; American letters is big enough that it can endure such a debate without people freaking out and becoming vindictive.

The opposite is sadly true in Canada. The result is a stymied literature, a mystified literature, a moralizing literature, a message-carrying literature, a cautious literature, and, yes, a boring literature.

Cars and the environment

 

Air travel hell

 

성복동에서/ Hanok in Seoul

 

Yongin

 

Death Haiku #1

 

BridgeText

BRIDGETEXT 1

BridgeText is a publishing venture I started several years ago. The initial idea was to promote the concept of the screenplay-novel, a hybrid form that itself can take many forms.

In this video, I describe some of the ideas I originally had:

An intro to the screenplay module novel concept

youtu.be/zRIQqNSfMac

Unlike a few other writers who’d worked with similar concepts, the screenplay novel, as I envisaged it, had to work both as a conventional novel and as a graphic narrative.

The Han River Bike Trail

 Biking the Han

Ecosystems

 

On screenplay fiction 5

 

On screenplay fiction 4

 

On screenplay fiction 3

Screenplay novel artwork 

On screenplay fiction 2

 Canada publishes a reasonable number of books — though that number could be increased; its biggest challenge, however, is selling more books … that is, increasing its share of the Canadian book market from its current low point of 5 percent.

What kind of strategies could be used? The following are worth discussing:

1. Enhanced Marketing and Visibility

There needs to be a concerted effort to market Canadian books more aggressively, both domestically and internationally. This could involve campaigns that highlight the unique aspects of Canadian literature and its relevance to contemporary issues.

2. Support from Retailers (booksellers promoting Canadian literature by featuring it more prominently in stores and online platforms).

3. Cultural Initiatives. These exist already, but there are glaring absences, such as major book fairs. New media festivals for hybrid forms such as videopoems and authorial moviepoems and moviestories much needed.

4. Education and Outreach. Putting more Canadian literature into educational curricula and community reading programs.

5. Diversification of Publishing Models. Genuinely embracing alternative publishing models, such as independent and self-publishing (more about this later, as ingrained snobbery has created a self defeating and intellectually dishonest situation in this regard).

6. International Distribution. Strengthening international distribution channels could help Canadian novels gain acclaim and readership abroad, which in turn could boost their popularity at home.

7. Inventing new forms of fiction; that is, reinventing the novel itself so that publication of books reaches new audiences because the books themselves attract buyers. This already happening with graphic fiction. But these experimental forms could be taken farther — much farther.

Sur les romans de scénario illustré 1

 Récemment, le critique Steven Beattie a passé en revue un roman policier écrit sous la forme d'un scénario (un documentaire sur un meurtre) accompagné d'un e-mail/SMS. Il s’agit d’une sorte d’expérience stylistique qui pourrait être considérée comme une mise à jour du roman épistolaire ou quelque chose de nouveau et d’audacieusement moderne. Il reste à voir si ce débat aura lieu, mais je voudrais cadrer le débat en des termes rarement utilisés. Le premier est la spécificité de la production littéraire canadienne (Stephen et moi sommes tous deux canadiens), et le second est l'attitude généralisée à l'égard des œuvres littéraires. Produire un roman dans une édition internationale, c'est-à-dire un roman qui reçoit une renommée et une distribution internationales.

La production canadienne de fiction est considérée presque entièrement comme le produit de maisons d'édition de propriété canadienne et québécoise. En apparence, cette perception semble assez logique. Après tout, qui publie des livres autres que les éditeurs de livres ? Mais ce que les étrangers au domaine ont tendance à ne pas réaliser (et ce que les initiés ne veulent pas non plus admettre), c'est que les livres canadiens sont très impopulaires parmi les acheteurs de livres canadiens. L'industrie du livre et des magazines contrôlait autrefois 25 % du marché canadien, mais elle en représente aujourd'hui 5 %. Ce déclin a amené certains à prétendre que l’édition canadienne est « morte ». Une telle qualification est manifestement injuste. Les éditeurs canadiens produisent environ 20 000 nouveaux livres chaque année. Mais la part de marché reste extrêmement faible. Cela est particulièrement vrai par rapport à d’autres pays. Un initié de l’édition a décrit la performance de l’industrie canadienne comme « la pire en littérature ».

Alors, que devrions-nous faire? Comment les livres canadiens peuvent-ils conquérir une plus grande part du marché national du livre?

(À suivre)

On the highly illustrated screenplay narrative and the screenplay module novel

Recently, critic Steven Beattie reviewed a mystery novel that was written in the form of a screenplay (for a documentary being made about a murder) and accompanying emails / text messages. This is kind of stylistic experimentation that could be dismissed as nothing more than an updating of the epistolary novel, or as something new and daringly contemporary. Whether this debate happens remains to be seen, but I’d like to frame a discussion in terms that are rarely employed, the first being the specifics of literary production in Canada (Steven and I are both Canadian), and second a generalized attitude toward novel production in international publishing — that is, those novels which receive international acclaim and distribution.

Canadian novel production is considered almost exclusively the result of Canadian / québécois owned publishing houses. This perception seems logical enough on its surface, since, after all, who will publish books but book publishers? However, what outsiders to the scene tend not to recognize (and insiders are not eager to acknowledge) is Canadian books are remarkably unpopular among Canadian book buyers; the book and magazine industry used to have 25% of the Canadian market — it now has 5% … a decline that’s led some to claim Canadian publishing is « dead ». That characterization is clearly unfair ; Canadian publishing produces approximately 20,000 new titles a year. But its market share remains embarrassingly low, especially when compared to other countries. One publishing insider described the performance of the Canadian industry as being « the worst in the literate world ».

What, then, is to be done? How can Canadian books gain more of the share of the book market in their own territory?

(To be continued)

The carbon footprint of military exercises

 

벛꽃/ Cherry blossoms

 

Spring flowers

Clip.

Spring flowers in South Korea: the blooming patterns are changing. #spri... 

Full video at YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/0-sm41C-5HY?si=O_NwQNbadus5ywrT via @YouTube

What’s happening where you live?

Safety lights in Seoul

 

Festival news

Happy that my VideoPoemSong « Why Some? » was just selected by AltFF Alternative Film Festival via FilmFreeway.com! YouTube link to video: Why Some?

https://youtu.be/1-5L60wK5zc

Kerala IFF: Your World

 Happy that Your World: An Experimental Documentary was just selected by Kerala Short Film Festival via FilmFreeway.com

If curious, YouTube link: A moviepoem about rural roots: Your World

https://youtu.be/kaI1ZtdRVPA

Village buses in Seoul

 

Working Life

 

Clip from a moviepoem about work: a theme that receives less and less attention the more literary production becomes integrated into “the program era”.

If curious, more at YouTube: https://youtu.be/jAsC7ZP5S3U?si=0LlK2uBwJ8NxdtbH

Baram

Baram Writer

Baram Writer (new version)

https://youtu.be/Oc9PS6vXd40

Travel hell 2

Air Travel Hell: Problems with Airlines. #airtravel #aircanada #airport #flightdelays

https://youtube.com/shorts/-lDW7hdNy9U?feature=share