Contemporary Bloody Literature
This new book is published in July 2018. It is a collection of five short stories interlaced with eighteen poems. This is not a common formula nowadays, but it seems a good way to promote the reading of poetry. Books of poetry don't sell very well compared to works of prose. This formula attracts the reader with prose and 'forces' him or her to engage with poems. This would have been a popular format for 'literature' a long time ago... say about six hundred years plus...
The final story, and indeed the ending piece of the work, is the longest, and concerns an elderly professor who has become disenchanted with contemporary literature. He gets his chance to rail against it & the world in a lecture, a lecture which has consequences he could never have foreseen... The book takes its title from that story. And yet, throughout the book there are numerous moments in which the idea of literature is referenced. The poems and stories repeatedly invite the reader to look, and look again, at the text and to see if they can probe beyond its apparent limits. By the end, the reader can feel they have engaged with the text in a manner which is different from other literary books. Contemporary Bloody Literature is a bold foray into new territory, for both writer and reader.
The final story, and indeed the ending piece of the work, is the longest, and concerns an elderly professor who has become disenchanted with contemporary literature. He gets his chance to rail against it & the world in a lecture, a lecture which has consequences he could never have foreseen... The book takes its title from that story. And yet, throughout the book there are numerous moments in which the idea of literature is referenced. The poems and stories repeatedly invite the reader to look, and look again, at the text and to see if they can probe beyond its apparent limits. By the end, the reader can feel they have engaged with the text in a manner which is different from other literary books. Contemporary Bloody Literature is a bold foray into new territory, for both writer and reader.
Reviews
Review by Danny Morrison (in 2019) can be accessed by clicking this link.
'per pagina ad lux aeterna et amor' Sep 13, 2019
Opening paragraph:
'I loved this little book of stories and poems which the author, Martin Connolly, autographed for me at Scribes at the Rock in August 2018 shortly after it was published by Snowchild Press. Martin (from Belfast) is Professor of English Literature at Tsurumi University, Yokohama, and has lived in Japan for over twenty five years, but has lost none of his native irony or mischievousness, which is evident throughout this work.'
'per pagina ad lux aeterna et amor' Sep 13, 2019
Opening paragraph:
'I loved this little book of stories and poems which the author, Martin Connolly, autographed for me at Scribes at the Rock in August 2018 shortly after it was published by Snowchild Press. Martin (from Belfast) is Professor of English Literature at Tsurumi University, Yokohama, and has lived in Japan for over twenty five years, but has lost none of his native irony or mischievousness, which is evident throughout this work.'
Contemporary Bloody Literature: Stories & Poems
by Martin Connolly
Snowchild Press
Link to Review
Book review by Donna Ford, at The US Review of Books
"...I saw my words
exposed for what they were,
rhetorical devices, no less,
and revisionism...
an artefact of fancy phrases
that wouldn’t bring him back"
Not many authors write and publish short stories anymore. More's the pity, as proven by Connolly’s book which demonstrates the appeal of this diminishing art form. Use of “Blood” as part of the title hints that the macabre is the focus of the short collection, and with shades of Rod Serling it delivers. The result, however, is meant to be more engaging and thought-provoking than spine-tingling.
The poems included vary in form and in length, but each tells a portion of some tale. The record player turntable does the work of a narrator. For the damaged crow there is no crow-ambulance, only a mystery left behind. One story included is about a film set and the strange interaction between Character E, Camera One team, and the director.
The signature story, the pièce de résistance, shares the name of the book’s title. Saved for the end, it perhaps completes a full circle. In this tale, an erudite speaker at a conference for publishers and writers proceeds in authoritative tones to tear down everything that his esteemed audience believes true. He lambasts trends as not really being a sign of the times but rather opinions which are pushed forward in order to control the market and keep out those whose creativity does not match the publishers' goals. Along with the story’s audience, the reader’s response will vary between shock (disgust) and merriment (agreement), depending on which side one bleeds on this issue affecting every would-be author.
Connolly stacks one prose piece upon a poem, adds another poem, and then puts on another piece of prose. This technique repeated artfully creates a 115-page sandwich, of sorts, that can be consumed at the reader’s leisure or gulped down in several huge bites. The reader may long for one last morsel—information about this talented author.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review of Books
by Martin Connolly
Snowchild Press
Link to Review
Book review by Donna Ford, at The US Review of Books
"...I saw my words
exposed for what they were,
rhetorical devices, no less,
and revisionism...
an artefact of fancy phrases
that wouldn’t bring him back"
Not many authors write and publish short stories anymore. More's the pity, as proven by Connolly’s book which demonstrates the appeal of this diminishing art form. Use of “Blood” as part of the title hints that the macabre is the focus of the short collection, and with shades of Rod Serling it delivers. The result, however, is meant to be more engaging and thought-provoking than spine-tingling.
The poems included vary in form and in length, but each tells a portion of some tale. The record player turntable does the work of a narrator. For the damaged crow there is no crow-ambulance, only a mystery left behind. One story included is about a film set and the strange interaction between Character E, Camera One team, and the director.
The signature story, the pièce de résistance, shares the name of the book’s title. Saved for the end, it perhaps completes a full circle. In this tale, an erudite speaker at a conference for publishers and writers proceeds in authoritative tones to tear down everything that his esteemed audience believes true. He lambasts trends as not really being a sign of the times but rather opinions which are pushed forward in order to control the market and keep out those whose creativity does not match the publishers' goals. Along with the story’s audience, the reader’s response will vary between shock (disgust) and merriment (agreement), depending on which side one bleeds on this issue affecting every would-be author.
Connolly stacks one prose piece upon a poem, adds another poem, and then puts on another piece of prose. This technique repeated artfully creates a 115-page sandwich, of sorts, that can be consumed at the reader’s leisure or gulped down in several huge bites. The reader may long for one last morsel—information about this talented author.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review of Books
Contemporary Bloody Literature
Martin Connolly
Snowchild Press
978-1911100133 $5.50
Book review by Diane Donovan, at MidWest Book Review
Link to Review
Contemporary Bloody Literature: Stories & Poems is a synthesis of literary reflections that excel in astute observation and thought-provoking moments: "The officer clearly lived in a world where numerals and data followed strict procedures and had meanings above and beyond the ken of the uninitiated."
That said, it should be mentioned that 'literary' in this case does not translate to linear narrations, but to a style and approach to its five short stories and eighteen poems that feels fresh and new. Poems are juxtaposed with prose stories and we encounter characters in situations which only initially appear diurnal and undramatic: an employment office interview waiting room, a hospital bed, a lecture theatre. Ironies, errors of perception and miscommunication abound.
These slice of life vignettes in prose and poetry provide not just literary perspectives, but thoughts about compliance, media and data manipulation, afterthoughts and observations on behaviour, and insights into complicated interpersonal relationships.
At first glance, the poems and prose seem to jump all over the place in terms of subject and style. As readers pursue Contemporary Bloody Literature, it becomes evident that the effort should be viewed in its entirety; with each piece becoming part of a larger literary puzzle and vision.
Through Martin Connolly's eyes, the world takes shape with all its underlying psychological facets painfully exposed and explored: "Separateness had been written into this vacation from the start. Sarah and her family prepared what they had brought and Michael prepared what he had brought, and never the twain did meet."
The logic surrounding such diverse topics as work, daily living, travel, war, reading habits and family relationships comes in for some interesting scrutiny, in a variety of situations: "This line of thinking brought Michael to wonder about other aspects of his behaviour, here and in Japan." This quote comes from a story which is set in post-9.11 America, and which provides a snapshot of life at that time.
Perhaps the strongest piece in this collection is both the concluding account and the one that contributes the title to the entire effort, ‘Contemporary Bloody Literature’. In this story, an eminent professor voices some strong opinions about contemporary literature in a public venue. He believes in the literary icons of the past and sees what is on offer now as a poor imitation, in a system run by people who know nothing of art. Later, Professor Gallagher comes into contact with a young female fan, one he finds alluring. He soon discovers that she is also a writer. Here, Professor Gallagher unwittingly enters terra incognita, a place of possibilities and… of dangers, too.
Martin Connolly
Snowchild Press
978-1911100133 $5.50
Book review by Diane Donovan, at MidWest Book Review
Link to Review
Contemporary Bloody Literature: Stories & Poems is a synthesis of literary reflections that excel in astute observation and thought-provoking moments: "The officer clearly lived in a world where numerals and data followed strict procedures and had meanings above and beyond the ken of the uninitiated."
That said, it should be mentioned that 'literary' in this case does not translate to linear narrations, but to a style and approach to its five short stories and eighteen poems that feels fresh and new. Poems are juxtaposed with prose stories and we encounter characters in situations which only initially appear diurnal and undramatic: an employment office interview waiting room, a hospital bed, a lecture theatre. Ironies, errors of perception and miscommunication abound.
These slice of life vignettes in prose and poetry provide not just literary perspectives, but thoughts about compliance, media and data manipulation, afterthoughts and observations on behaviour, and insights into complicated interpersonal relationships.
At first glance, the poems and prose seem to jump all over the place in terms of subject and style. As readers pursue Contemporary Bloody Literature, it becomes evident that the effort should be viewed in its entirety; with each piece becoming part of a larger literary puzzle and vision.
Through Martin Connolly's eyes, the world takes shape with all its underlying psychological facets painfully exposed and explored: "Separateness had been written into this vacation from the start. Sarah and her family prepared what they had brought and Michael prepared what he had brought, and never the twain did meet."
The logic surrounding such diverse topics as work, daily living, travel, war, reading habits and family relationships comes in for some interesting scrutiny, in a variety of situations: "This line of thinking brought Michael to wonder about other aspects of his behaviour, here and in Japan." This quote comes from a story which is set in post-9.11 America, and which provides a snapshot of life at that time.
Perhaps the strongest piece in this collection is both the concluding account and the one that contributes the title to the entire effort, ‘Contemporary Bloody Literature’. In this story, an eminent professor voices some strong opinions about contemporary literature in a public venue. He believes in the literary icons of the past and sees what is on offer now as a poor imitation, in a system run by people who know nothing of art. Later, Professor Gallagher comes into contact with a young female fan, one he finds alluring. He soon discovers that she is also a writer. Here, Professor Gallagher unwittingly enters terra incognita, a place of possibilities and… of dangers, too.
Photographs to ponder...
Martin Connolly writes:
"The album on the left was signed by John McLaughlin for me, as requested by my brother Jim, who interviewed him many years ago. I also make reference to one of the tracks on this album in the poem 'Beer against the machine, München 1984' in CBL. Music like this, by artists such as McLaughlin & Miles Davis etc., have left an indelible mark on my own artistic consciousness. The brother, Jim, as described in the poem, did add a caption below the pic of Miles in printer tape. See! It was with great pleasure and delight and wonderment that I got to actually meet John McL a few years ago. Check here. I should mention that Jim has also left an indelible mark on my life & consciousness, too, and continues to do so. (He left an indelible mark on that Miles album for sure!)" |