Tag Archives: literature

BOOK: “Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird” by Henry Lien

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Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern StorytellingSpring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling by Henry Lien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

I enjoyed, and was stimulated in thought, by the first half of this book, as well as by sections of the latter half, especially in the fourth chapter. (It’s arranged into four chapters, echoing the book’s central idea of a unique four-act approach to storytelling prevalent in Eastern societies. I’ll get to why I was not so fond of Ch. 3 later.) The book employs exemplary works of literature, film, and even video games to support the claim that there’s not just one approach to sound story crafting — but, rather, that Eastern societies developed distinct modes of storytelling reflecting their values and worldview. (A note on the use of the word “Eastern”: while the book draws heavily on East Asian sources, it tries to make a broader case suggesting not only South Asia but also the Middle East [i.e. everyplace not big-W “Western”] fit this mold. The book might have made a stronger case sticking to East Asia, as – for example – it might be argued that Arabia / Persia of the time of One Thousand and One Nights, being Abrahamic, was closer to Europe than East Asia in values and worldview. To be fair, the author does argue that some parts of that book are believed to have come from farther East (India and, possibly, beyond.))

The book proposes that there are two (arguably three) styles of story construction that are distinctly Eastern. The first is a four-act structure that is far from just a rejiggering of the three and five act forms with which English Literature students will be familiar. Incidentally, the book’s rather unusual title maps to the elements of this four-act structure. The second involves circular and nested story structure. I don’t know that the author succeeds in (or even seeks to) convince the reader that this is a uniquely Eastern approach, but -rather – makes an argument as to why it is prominent in Eastern storytelling.

The author picked an excellent set of works to illustrate his points. Generally, the works are both well-known and well-received among diverse audiences. The films he employs as cases include Parasite, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and Rashomon (the latter also being a literary work.) Lien uses one of my favorite Haruki Murakami novels Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World as a critical example. I was not at all familiar with the video games he describes (beyond name,) but – given that I’d at least heard of them – I assume they are pretty popular (though I can’t speak to whether they have any discernable stories and will have to take that on faith.) [I’m not sure whether One Thousand and One Nights was a good choice for Eastern literature, though it is an excellent choice as of nested structure.]

As for why I didn’t care for the book’s third part. I should point out that is the most philosophical (and the least explicitly concerned with story) part of the book, and it aims to show how values and worldview vary across cultures such that there are differences in story structure and crafting between different parts of the world. That could be a laudable objective and germane to the book’s point and it’s not why I found this section to be muddled and ineffective. The problem is that the chapter oversimplifies the issue in a way that seems to undercut a broader central argument (that Eastern modes of storytelling are underrepresented outside of the East.) Instead of suggesting that people experience conflicts along continuums (e.g. individual to group identity) and that Easterners tend come to different conclusions than Westerners do based on differing values and cultural perspectives, it engages in an elaboration of the distinctions that seems to suggest there’s some unbridgeable gulf of understanding between cultures (and, quite frankly, kind of feels like it’s shifted from making the aforementioned point to just being a thinly veiled critique of Western culture — which is fine, but probably belongs in a different book — or maybe a manifesto.) But if there were no basis for stories to resonate across this gulf, then not only wouldn’t Parasite and Everything Everywhere All at Once have killed it at both the Oscars and American box office, there’d be no reason for artists to attempt to branch out and tells stories across tribal lines. Without establishing a basis for story resonance, it’s ridiculous to argue that Hollywood should use Eastern modes of storytelling and Eastern worldviews to a greater extent. (A profit pursuing entity is always going to seek the largest possible customer base.) I’m not attempting to negate the argument that there are different approaches to storytelling among different peoples nor that more diversity of approaches shouldn’t be seen across cultures. I’m saying that this chapter doesn’t well support the argument for greater representation of Eastern modes of storytelling outside of Eastern outlets (publishers, film studios, etc.) because it spends so much time arguing the cultural differences that it doesn’t indicate how cross-cultural story resonance is possible.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting and thought-provoking read, though it was – for me – a bit muddled in the middle.

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“Of the Surface of Things” by Wallace Stevens [w/ Audio]

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1 
I

In my room, the world is beyond my
   understanding;
 But when I walk I see that it consists of three or
  four
       hills and a cloud.

II

From my balcony, I survey the yellow air,
 Reading where I have written,
 "The spring is like a belle undressing."

III

The gold tree is blue,
 The singer has pulled his cloak over his head.
 The moon is in the folds of the cloak.

“Jade Cup” by Zhang Ju [w/ Audio]

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The West winds tumble fallen leaves;
 Autumn 's yellow, though blooms are shy;
 I brush at dust upon my sleeves;
 The horses' hoofprints dot the frost;
 Moonlit cocks crow amid grain sheaves;
 The road to town: no passersby.

Fame 's not gained by effort or skill,
 And would fade away ten years hence.
 Please don't dance, but drink your fill.
 Six Dynasty tales flow away:
 Diluted as waters spread and spill.
 The world feels like dream and pretense.

BOOKS:  木兰辞 [Ballad of Mulan] by Anonymous

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The Ballad of Mulan: 木兰辞 (Simplified Chinese Characters with Pinyin)The Ballad of Mulan: 木兰辞 by Song Nan Zhang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available online at YellowBridge

This is a short lyric poem (15-1/2 quatrain, or 62 lines) that tells the story of a young woman who disguises herself as a man and joins the military to fill a slot that would otherwise have required her aged and infirm father to serve. The tiny poem packs in ten-plus years, during which Hua Mulan serves with great distinction and then returns home to take care of her parents. It’s a well-known tale that emphasizes the importance of filial piety and sacrifice. Though outside of China (as well as Taiwan and other Chinese cultural enclaves,) many may know it from the Disney version which has been panned for ditching the Confucian values and replacing them with ones that were thought would resonate better with a Western audience.

The poem is mostly arranged in quatrains of five-character lines with alternate line rhymes.

It’s a quick read and there is no room for the detailed tales of heroism that are depicted in adaptations.

If one is looking for a culturally insightful telling of the story of Hua Mulan, this is the right place to look. I’d highly recommend reading it.

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“Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe [w/ Audio]

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From childhood's hour I have not been
 As others were -- I have not seen
 As other saw -- I could not bring
 My passions from a common spring ---
 From the same source I have not taken
 My sorrow -- I could not awaken
 My heart to joy at the same tone --
 And all I lov'd -- I lov'd alone --
 Then -- in my childhood -- in the dawn
 Of a most stormy life -- was drawn
 From ev'ry depth of good and ill
 The mystery which binds me still --
 From the torrent, or the fountain --
 From the red cliff of the mountain --
 From the sun that 'round me roll'd 
 In its autumn tint of gold --
 From the lightening in the sky
 As it pass'd me flying by --
 From the thunder, and the storm --
 And the cloud that took the form
 (When the rest of Heaven was blue)
 Of a demon in my view --

“Infant Sorrow” by William Blake [w/ Audio]

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My mother groan'd! my father wept.
 Into the dangerous world I leapt:
 Helpless, naked, piping loud:
 Like a fiend hid in a cloud.
 
Struggling in my father's hands,
 Striving against my swadling bands.
 Bound and weary I thought best
 To sulk upon my mother's breast.

“A Needle’s Eye” by William Butler Yeats [w/ Audio]

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All the stream that's roaring by
   Came out of a needle's eye;
 Things unborn, things that are gone,
    From needle's eye still goad it on.

“With a Clean Heart” (Tiszta szívvel) by József Attila [w/ Audio]

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Have no mother, have no dad,
 have no country, have no God,
 no cradle, no winding sheet,
 no lover, no kisses sweet.

Haven't eaten for three days,
 my head spins, the body sways...
 Twenty years! My might, my gale,
 twenty years are now for sale.

If there is no customer,
 sell it to Devil in hell.
 With a clean heart, I will steal,
 If need be, I'll even kill.

They'll catch me and hang me up,
 with soft earth cover me up,
 and death-bringing grass will start
 from my beautiful, clean heart.

Translation by Frank Veszely in Hungarian Poetry: One Thousand Years (2023) Altona, Manitoba: Friesen Press, pp. 156-157.

NOTE: This poem got Attila expelled from university and preemptively scuttled any possibility of a career in academia. (Hence, my affinity for it. Any poetry that extracts such a cost is probably excellent poetry.)

“Song of the Open Road” (15 of 15) by Walt Whitman [w/ Audio]

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Allons! the road is before us!
 It is safe -- I have tried it -- my own feet have
   tried it well -- be not detain'd!

Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten,
   and the book on the shelf unopen'd!
 Let the tools remain in the workshop! let
   the money remain unearn'd!
 Let the school stand! mind not the cry of 
   the teacher!
 Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the
   lawyer plead in the court, and the judge
   expound the law.

Camerado, I give you my hand!
 I give you my love more precious than
   money,
 I give you myself before preaching or law;
 Will you give me yourself? will you come 
   travel with me?
 Shall we stick by each other as long as we
   live?

BOOKS: “Hungarian Poetry” trans./ed. by Frank Veszely

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Hungarian Poetry (Folk, Classical and Modern) in English: 1000 yearsHungarian Poetry (Folk, Classical and Modern) in English: 1000 years by Frank Veszely
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author Site

This anthology of Hungarian poetry translated into English presents some interesting and evocative examples of Hungarian poetry, ranging from anonymous folk poetry of early kingdoms to 20th century pieces by still-living poets. I can’t speak to how the translations compare to the originals, but I will say that they were a pleasure to read and employed metering and rhyme to maintain some of the feel of the originals. This book introduced me to many poets with whom I was only familiar from names on subway stations, city squares, and parks, having traveled extensively in Hungary (plus a few of whom I’m sure I’ve never heard. Note: poetry is huge in Hungary, but because the Hungarian language is not broadly spoken, it remains largely a secret to outsiders.)

That said, the anthology is not so broad ranging as one might expect from its subtitle. The nineteenth and twentieth century selections take up the bulk of the volume. It does make sense that there is a much larger (and more likely to have survived) selection from recent times. However, there also aren’t as many poets included as one might expect. Ostensibly, one reason for this is that Veszely doesn’t shy away from including lengthier pieces. Whereas an anthology like this would often favor short pieces and / or excerpts (and, thus, might include more voices,) this one contains many multi-page poems. That said, while most of the biggest names seem accounted for (e.g. Vorosmarty, Csokonai Vitez, Arany, Petofi, Jozsef Attila, etc.,) there are conspicuous absences of prominent and important poets (and, perhaps, of categories of poets as well.)

Short bios of each of the contributing poets make this an introduction to many interesting figures scarcely known to non-Hungarians, as well as it is a sampling of their poetry. Each of the four sections also has some background historical information. This history is useful because there is a lot of nationalistic / jingoistic poetry in this volume, particularly among the nineteenth century poets (as was the style of the day.)

I should point out that some will find this book excessively nationalistic. (A book titled for the state can be expected to have some superpatriotic pieces, but this goes a bit beyond that.) For my part, I was not troubled by the poetry content, knowing that nineteenth century Hungarian poetry was notoriously nationalistic. Also, once one gets into the twentieth century poetry it gains much more diversity of content, e.g. nature, art, etc. My own concern about nationalism was more about the Part Four introduction, which paints Hungary as an innocent little lamb, always being victimized. Taking history from this introduction, one might think that Hungary was forced into the Axis and struggled to get free of it from the onset. This view would be more defensible if the invasion of Nazi Germany to firm up the Hungarian alliance had occurred in, say, 1941, instead of the spring of 1944 (when everyone knew the Third Riech was on its death bed.) In point of fact, Hungary’s leadership seem to have had their own ambitions (not to mention their own rampant antisemitism) going into this alliance.

I enjoyed these translations immensely, and felt I learned about the poets and the times in which they lived. That said, while I did like that Veszely included some longer pieces in full, it might have been nice to see a bit more diversity in the selection as well.

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