Saturday, November 06, 2010

rhizomatic writing

I made this sketch during Monday's phone tutorial when Catherine Dormer told me that my writing was rhizomatic (like a root that sends up many shoots) as opposed to arboreal (like a tree, logical with a single strong trunk). She said it was a compliment. I'm working on the theoretical section of my dissertation this week, trying to make sure I don't lose my focus and have been using my wall to organize the various shoots. Catherine told me I needed to back up my ideas with psychoanalysis, phenomenology and some feminine writing. New writers for me are Juhani Pallasmaa, Melanie Klein, Helene Cixous and Luce Irigaray. I have not read Freud, Jung, Lacan and Merleau Ponty in their original texts....yet. The beautiful writing that follows is from the prologue of To Be Two by Luce Irigaray.

Earth,

you who house me but with whom I share,

you who are fecund with so many children, who do not resemble one another,

you who grow without respite, both in secret and in the light,

you who bear seed, flower and fruit,

you who never cease to repair life,

you who at every time of the year work for the becoming of the living,

Earth,

you who are still lavish with sun when the frost comes,

Earth,

safeguard me, faithful one.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

beautiful. simply

Jeana Marie said...

There seems to be a similarity in the visual effect of your stitched panels to the bits of your writing pinned to the wall and I like it very much.

Karen Turner said...

That's EXACTLY how I organise for writing - always have done. I can't get to grips with the computer's cut and paste option because you can't see everything at once on one screen-ful. Writing it down and arranging it all is the only way. You're the only other person I've seen do it the same way as me.

Heavens2Betsy said...

Beautiful indeed. Penny

Penny Berens said...

Words don't come easy to me. Serena and Jeana Marie said it for me.

Velma Bolyard said...

the Luce Irigaray quote is absolutely wonderful.

Heather said...

Good stuff. Phenomenology is a good place to work from, we used it a lot in my art therapy training. The psychodynamic stuff is pretty heavy and can take years to wade through, but is useful.

lln said...

luce irigaray is probably my favourite writer.
also have you read deleuze? he and guattari are who conceptualised the rhizome.....

my writing is here.
http://npfeed.blogspot.co.nz/p/max-trevor-thomas-edmond.html

(shameless i know)