New Frontiers of Writing
This is a live blogging of the session.
James Stamant
Bodies Of/And Water in A Farewell to Arms
page 1 starts with water
page 2 rain
2nd chapter speaker moves across rvier
in 2nd paragraph “river ran behind us”
water was an asset for war
use of mountains and water in fighting
Catherine sees herself dead in rain
Frederic saves himself by diving into river
rain keeps the planes from flying
“across the river”
mud
dirt becomes invasive but saves his life
Frederic’s surgery is successful.
Catherine’s is not.
sterility, clean, holy, curating
town in Italy where it’s not a dirty joke to love God
witness of WWI- Brits trenched in highest water table & copious rain area
weather in war–Italy– significant
soldiers had fought in water “to their waist”
Stoneback only one scene of water cleansing
ee cummings novel in 1922 The Enormous River
Willa Cather got her 1922 war description from Birth of a Nation, according to Hemingway
covers lots of information from many different places:
Stonewall Jackson,
modern Iraqi war
early modern authors: Cather, Cummings, Caesar
crossing river to go to war becomes the point of no return in other literature
Frederic jumps into the river to escape execution, just like Ambrose Bierce’s “Owl-Creek Bridge”
Ryan Hediger
ethics and animality of The Garden of Eden
eurocolonialism in Africa
David sympathizes with elephant
criticizes his dad’s humanity
“extreme animal otherness”
iceberg theory
approach to language is skeptical
language fails to be clear and accurate
SF group with language “that is able to perfectly express ideas”
how to understand David’s paternal lineage
David disagrees that time elephant has been with friend is irrelevant.
NOTE: Elephant friendship is real. Dog and elephant are friends.
David cares- but quits talking
David falsely agrees to repair rift with his father, decides not to talk
language is used to subjugate David
David calls elephant his hero.
knowing animals = knowing place
uses overhead for quotes
marks of tusks on ground= pseudo-language
elephant scene
the marks of tusks are suffused with pathos, story of loss
Cynthia Moss said elephants mourn.
Jessica Pierce
Wild Justice Beckhoff, author
Social animals have emotions that humans do animals have morals. –Beckhoff
someone writing a book
adultery + animal shooting is an overindulgence of excessive sexuality
David has profanity w f-word
David cussing = taking a step into adulthood
David says he’ll ever tell anyone anything ever again. “never ever never again”
excessive use of language
failure of language
near end of pub bk David is forced to recognizes that language doesn’t make experience comes alive again.
language cannot recreate the experience
“the writing is the only progress you make” Hemingway, p. 166
“you must write each day better than you can” H, p. 166
real beliefs are private
“Under Kilamanjaro”
p. 205 “lightly as spider webs but that hold like steel cables”
homesick for Africa–not home, outside of responsibilities
places struck a resonant note in H-
desire to o back to them was a rejection of America
travel ability carries a loss of home
discplaced person finds reason to record experience
adult David- does he dismiss child David’s voice?
or is it unresolved in book?
This was late posted, due to a family emergency.