Sunday, November 7, 2010

Creative Chaos, Celtic Style


French artist Paul Cézanne once said, “We live in a rainbow of chaos.” German scholar Friedrich Nietzsche agreed: “You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.” If they’re right, I'm well on my way to creative bliss.

One look at the disaster that passes for my office would tell anyone that I've plunged into a new story. Photos of woodland fungi sit atop books about mythology, pirates, and stage lighting. Magazines depicting luxury real estate hide beneath piles of recipes for Monday night writers’ group supper. Homework for Tuesday night writing class litters shelves usually reserved for statues and knickknacks. Dust has invaded said shelves, statues and knickknacks, and beside my printer is a stack of bills I paid days ago but haven’t filed.

This is good. The best artists in my grammar school classes always had the messiest paintboxes. My “paintbox” is messy with books, most of which I obtained during my recent visit to Ireland. I bought so many, the check-in people at Dublin Airport put a “Heavy” tag on my suitcase.

I’ve almost finished reading them and am particularly enjoying a jewel called “Tales of the West of Ireland.” This collection of vignettes, written by County Mayo native James Berry (1842-1914), has it all: murder and smuggling, rebellion and famine, love and betrayal, all drawn from the oral tradition of the people of Mayo and Galway. Berry's stories first appeared in a local newspaper in the 19th century. In the mid 1960s, the late Gertrude Horgan unearthed and published this work in a well-organized and entertaining anthology.

The book begins with an unusual means of winning a local election: kidnap the opposing voters and lock them up overnight with a supply of good whiskey to keep them happy. The whiskey flowed, and the detainees turned their chaotic abduction into a creative evening of storytelling.

I won’t name the book I read right before that. I’ll only say that it, too, is an anthology, newly published and riddled with typographical errors, misinformation, and annoying author intrusion.

Not so the older fella. James Berry’s writing style might be out of vogue, but his stories are charming snapshots of life in a rural Ireland of yore. I get the sense that the storytellers of Berry’s day were not only well-trained in their craft, but also more interested in relaying a story purely for the story's sake rather than in taking personal credit for doing the job. And the language! I’ll be “borrowing” a phrase or two, as this fine old book has “put the come-hither" on me for sure.

Now if I could only find my keyboard . . .

*Rainbow sheep courtesy of Photobucket

16 comments:

  1. If mess and chaos define the creative personality, I must be a genius. Thank you, Pat! Now I can feel better.

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  2. Always glad to help out a kindred messaholic, Miriam.

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  3. Great post! I don't feel so bad about all my clutter now, Pat. LOL My suitcase was tagged "heavy" also but for a different reason. I umm... found some fossils on the Jurassic Coast... Security did okay them. Whew. ;)

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  4. Fossils? I had you figured for lifting a claymore or two, Nicole :-) I hope you'll tell us more about this Jurassic Coast in one of your upcoming posts. You've aroused my curiosity. Thanks for dropping by!

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  5. That's right! All of my Scottish 'clutter' is to inspire me and it feeds my muse. Do you think if I say that enough the dh will buy it?

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  6. Absolutely, Victoria. From what Iv'e seen, DHs seem to enjoy the mystery surrounding wives and their ways :-)

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  7. Pat, thank you! It's so good to realize that chaos really does feed into creativity! I like to tell people that the piles of paper, books, photos, etc. are necessary to the creative flow. Don't know if they believe it, but it works for me!

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  8. Cynthia, it absolutely works. How can a writer focus on writing if mundane chores like putting things away get in the way? Glad you dropped by to agree :-)

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  9. Chaos in my office? You bet. Scottish, Pirates, Vampires. Thanks for sharing, Pat. Now I ken, I'm nae alone.

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  10. Ye're in verra fine company indeed, lassie. Thanks, Dawn!

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  11. The book sounds great and I am so jealous you visited Ireland. it is on my list of places to be seen. And now that I know what the mess in my office stands for, I won't worry about cleaning.

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  12. Hi, Amy! Ireland has been an addiction for me since I first visited in 2002. I hope you'll enjoy its famous hospitality and gorgeous scenery one day. And no, don't worry about cleaning that writing mess :-) Thank you so much for dropping by!

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  13. Jesus, Mary and Holy Saint Joseph! Am I the only anal-retentive writer out there? I can't be alone--it's not possible. Somewhere out there has to be another painfully organized writer! Scattered books? Cluttered desks? Piles of papers? No way in hell could I concentrate in such chaos--I'd be too busy squaring off the edges of my books, papers and magazines...an OCD writer? Aye lassie, 'tis me.

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  14. LOL, Lisa. I'm sure you're not alone. Whatever works, as long as the writing flows. Thanks for popping by!

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  15. Do my dust bunnies quality--along with the rest of the clutter surrounding my computer, Pat? I(Oh-h-h, I HOPE so!)
    ~Donna

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  16. Of course they count, Donna. Bigger than bunnies, however, and you might consider tying a dust cloth to GGC's tail!

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