A Question of Journey - Softcover
Pages: 194 (Black & White Illus: 11)
Preface
This collection of vignettes is the result of four journeys to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and equal number of ventures to the Indonesian archipelago. The years spanned are 1979-1995, though the writings do not necessarily appear in chronological order. As a painter, poet, and avid journal keeper, my attempt here is to present-with as little distortion as possible-the raw edge of realities which lifted me from my usual set of footholds into a consciousness far different from any experienced in my American homeland.
In the process of weeding out the seed experiences from my journals, I simultaneously discovered the poet Alain Bosquet who said," essential writing raises wild notions and challenge". Reading his poetry, I experienced the same unexpected realities that overcame me while traveling to distant lands: that these are indeed times of challenge, particularly in a world of failing human passion, rampant intoxication with speed, and an obsession with material quest. Clearly languages, the power to listen, to remember, and to speak truthfully are vanishing as quickly as clean water, breathable air, and a once-abundant, respected population of beautiful, intelligent, and diverse life species.
In Nepal, on several treks across the Himalaya, it came to me again and again: "If the world is so beautiful, why not be beautiful in it?" In Varanasi I realized that I had come to India to find to find in reality what one usually only sees in dreams. A journey in Bali, in 1993, brought me into a culture productively obsessed with art, music, theater, dance, and psychic transformation. At work, play, or prayer, the Balinese were busy finding balance within the interplay of good and evil-while maintaining an equilibrium within a complex weave of natural and supernatural forces. The Balinese concept of dance as mix of song, storytellin
Preface
This collection of vignettes is the result of four journeys to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and equal number of ventures to the Indonesian archipelago. The years spanned are 1979-1995, though the writings do not necessarily appear in chronological order. As a painter, poet, and avid journal keeper, my attempt here is to present-with as little distortion as possible-the raw edge of realities which lifted me from my usual set of footholds into a consciousness far different from any experienced in my American homeland.
In the process of weeding out the seed experiences from my journals, I simultaneously discovered the poet Alain Bosquet who said," essential writing raises wild notions and challenge". Reading his poetry, I experienced the same unexpected realities that overcame me while traveling to distant lands: that these are indeed times of challenge, particularly in a world of failing human passion, rampant intoxication with speed, and an obsession with material quest. Clearly languages, the power to listen, to remember, and to speak truthfully are vanishing as quickly as clean water, breathable air, and a once-abundant, respected population of beautiful, intelligent, and diverse life species.
In Nepal, on several treks across the Himalaya, it came to me again and again: "If the world is so beautiful, why not be beautiful in it?" In Varanasi I realized that I had come to India to find to find in reality what one usually only sees in dreams. A journey in Bali, in 1993, brought me into a culture productively obsessed with art, music, theater, dance, and psychic transformation. At work, play, or prayer, the Balinese were busy finding balance within the interplay of good and evil-while maintaining an equilibrium within a complex weave of natural and supernatural forces. The Balinese concept of dance as mix of song, storytellin
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About the Author:
John Brandi has been faithful to the craft of poetry, painting, journaling, and gardening for most of his life. He is an ardent traveler, giving readings of his poetry and exhibiting his visual art at home and abroad. A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry, he has been invited to lecture on the practice of haiku in Ottawa, Canada, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Los Angeles, California, and Chandigarh, India. John Brandi's archives (1963-1999) are in the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. Complete collections of his books and broadsides may be found at: the University of California, the University at Buffalo, Brown University, and the Chavez History Library, Santa Fe NM.
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- PublisherBook Faith India
- Publication date1995
- ISBN 10 8173031800
- ISBN 13 9788173031809
- BindingPaperback
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A Question of Journey
Published by
Book Faith India
(1995)
ISBN 10: 8173031800
ISBN 13: 9788173031809
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Softcover
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A Question of Journey
Published by
Book Faith India
(1995)
ISBN 10: 8173031800
ISBN 13: 9788173031809
New
Softcover
Quantity: 4
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Book Description Condition: New. pp. [vii] + 196 Illus. Seller Inventory # 7791518
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