Previous Updates: March 2006

May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005

March 22, 2006 1:05 PM New Google Poetry in the Anthology by Andrew Lundwall and Jesse Crockett. And Chris Murray has put out nice Google audio here and here.

March 17, 2006 8:30 AM The famous Finnish literary (?) brothers (?) of Kivi, Aleksis & Tiilis, jointly implicated in this fine poem by Jouni Tossavainen.

March 13, 2006 3:46 PM Slapstick philosophy: manifestos of Smileism by Tuomas Timonen, Ville Härkönen, and Pasi Mäkelä.

March 10, 2006 3:36 PM "One corollary of the fifth century 'barbarian' invasions was the gradual shift from Greco-Roman to Christian art. During the Renaissance, a strong Byzantine influence helped effect the transition from Christian to European styles. And it was contact with Oceanic and African sculpture which provoked, in part, the leap from European to Modernist art." These observations by Forrest Gander, in his "Homage to Translation" are worth quoting amidst so much current light talk about "conflict" "versus" "dialog" of "cultures". The essay is in towards a foreign likeness bent, an excellent book and freely available e-book of essays etc. on translation, by Ammiel Alcalay, Charles Bernstein, Norma Cole, Marcella Durand, Forrest Gander, Bill Marsh, Sawako Nakayasu, Kristin Prevallet, Ryoko Sekiguchi, Jonathan Skinner, Rick Snyder, Jalal Toufic (a wonderful interview!), Keith Waldrop, Rosmarie Waldrop, and Chet Wiener. Via Charles.

March 9, 2006 9:35 AM Not in Hesari either. Texts to my two comments on the official Finnish stance in the cartoon controversy, sent to the editors of the "Debate" section of Helsingin Sanomat, on February 28 and March 2; not published.

March 9, 2006 8:45 AM Not in Hesari. Writer Harry Forsblom's reply to reviewer Pertti Lassila that Helsingin Sanomat did not publish (Finnish). Also see my note on March 6, 2006.

March 9, 2006 8:05 AM Now even with words! Tommi Nuopponen's Käännöksiä blog has more content.

March 7, 2006 10:35 AM New poems in the Google Poems Anthology by Jesse Crockett, Christopher Church, Rusty Henderson, and Lorna Dee Cervantes. I also recommend Lorna Dee's fine, "multicultural" sestina here. "You got a lot riding on this puro."

March 6, 2006 1:30 PM "as such", "then", "or", "so", "now", "maybe", "a little", "indeed", "if", "yes". Be wary of using these words/expressions, if you don't want your book to be bashed in Helsingin Sanomat. Plus, especially if it's fiction, check all the facts carefully! (Cf. Pertti Lassila's rock-bottom review, HS Kulttuuri, March 5, 2006, of Sorayan Kiirastuli by Harry Forsblom (Artipictura 2006).) Luckily we can still say "no" - also to this kind of "criticism".

March 2, 2006 7:35 PM Not even a trace of a conflict of cultures. Kiamars Baghbani has put out images from the International Literature Evening at the Cultural Center Caisa, February 21.

March 1, 2006 7:35 AM A question of fictionality. Karri Kokko, whose own work largely consists of image manipulation, asks a pertinent question as to whether the depicting of Mohammad in disguise in the Kaltio cartoon really managed to circumvent the well-known Islam prohibition. He is right to remark that the prohibition also applies to false images (it must: there is no such thing as "right image") (tho I don't understand why he sees this as an additional reason for a lay person to submit to it). Now consider this: how do we know that it really is Mohammad in the cartoon? We only have his word, the word of a fictional character in a cartoon bubble, for it. Suppose it is a false Prophet, after all? The Devil, Duffy Duck, or Matti Vanhanen, the Prime Minister, posing as him? We cannot know since it's a piece of fiction. So we must condemn it as a piece of fiction... We must condemn fiction... We must... But wait, this image surely is right and accurate (beside being revealing...)... but is it against the prohibition?

March 1, 2006 6:15 AM Nash region?, a publication from Vologda, Russia, has published the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. Its editor, Anna Smirnova, is now subject to a criminal investigation, facing five years' imprisonment. The rationale? "Unfortunately, there are elements [in this country] that are irresponsible enough to endanger the security of the entire nation. Thus, the authorities must take all measures provided by the legislation to remove these offending images before they cause irreparable damage [to the country and its people]. The Government should also seriously consider ways to instigate new legislation [...] in order to prevent activities that can lead to totally unpredictable consequences both economically and in terms of human lives." The information, again, thanks to Jukka Mallinen. The quote is from an unofficial translation of a statement by Jari Vilén, an influential Conservative Member of the Finnish Parliament (link thanks to mitvit whose yesterday's post is one of the best accounts of what is now going on in the country).