a friend just asked: "what do you think of the harry potter phenomenon?" hmm, took me a minute. then I remembered reading a book on children's lit years ago. the author said english books different because of their magical landscape, a long history of figures rising up thru the earth, or an adventure in another land set off by a ring, stepping through a clothes closet, or falling down a rabbit hole.
americans, being at heart pragmatic and wedded to science, don't have this hidden world around, below, inside them. (the indians did. www.pbase.com/wwp/indians_ghost_dance) it opens up too much that is ambiguous and frightening. our land is mostly raw material with a few mystics thrown in (thoreau, for example). but the need for this kind of magical feeling doesn't disappear from children or adults, tho it becomes submerged in our education.
well, this made me realize my whole creative endeavor has been to get in touch with these unrealized worlds. I've just posted 'in the mystery of a room' which you are invited to peruse: www.pbase.com/wwp/mystery and if you look elsewhere on the general site www.pbase.com/wwp you will find many manifestations of this experience: 'epiphany at peet's,' 'the secret life around us.' and I've done a black and white version of the chico dance theatre's photoshoot which shows in black and white the unsuspected stories evolving, yet never explained: www.pbase.com/wwp/bwphotoshoot
also in writing I suppose I am in the magical realist category, attempting to show our lives as surrounded by magic as any in mexico or great britain. take a look at www.pbase.com/wwp/spirit or www.pbase.com/wwp/apple my hope is that a more mysterious connection with our own home will push us to take better care of it.
americans, being at heart pragmatic and wedded to science, don't have this hidden world around, below, inside them. (the indians did. www.pbase.com/wwp/indians_ghost_dance) it opens up too much that is ambiguous and frightening. our land is mostly raw material with a few mystics thrown in (thoreau, for example). but the need for this kind of magical feeling doesn't disappear from children or adults, tho it becomes submerged in our education.
well, this made me realize my whole creative endeavor has been to get in touch with these unrealized worlds. I've just posted 'in the mystery of a room' which you are invited to peruse: www.pbase.com/wwp/mystery and if you look elsewhere on the general site www.pbase.com/wwp you will find many manifestations of this experience: 'epiphany at peet's,' 'the secret life around us.' and I've done a black and white version of the chico dance theatre's photoshoot which shows in black and white the unsuspected stories evolving, yet never explained: www.pbase.com/wwp/bwphotoshoot
also in writing I suppose I am in the magical realist category, attempting to show our lives as surrounded by magic as any in mexico or great britain. take a look at www.pbase.com/wwp/spirit or www.pbase.com/wwp/apple my hope is that a more mysterious connection with our own home will push us to take better care of it.
