The Empire of Love.

There is an important story which needs to be told. This is the story of the contribution of the lesser known players involved in Britain`s imperial pursuits. History as we know is complicated. The British Empire is no different in this regard yet it is the shameful actions which are prominent in our memory and not the benevolent ones.

The notion of an imperial power colonising other states was not solely British in origin. The British Empire was just one example of an archaic geo-political system which remained a prevalent force until the Second World War ended.The British Empire is singled out for its perceived notoriety as the most extensive enterprise of its kind in contemporary history.

Colonisation was a typically aggrandising process to secure resources, including a compliant workforce in order to enrich the Empire. Exploitation and subjugation of the indigenous population occurred and it was held in place with a military force. As the Empire was a vast and all encompassing game there were those who played a reluctant or dissenting role. These included people who were motivated by compassion rather than cruelty and charity rather than greed. These Britons empathised with Indians as fellow humans, something which was unusual at that time.

There is one corner of the Empire which has received an unfair reputation as a pariah state. Britain`s role in India is frequently cited as a prime example of imperial arrogance. This is only partially correct. Britain also had an army of missionaries who were committed to improving the health and educational prospects of the poorest people in India. Unlike the elites these individuals were motivated by their sincere faith in humanity rather than any thirst for glory.

Schools and hospitals were built and campaigns were undertaken to stop practices like child marriage and the burning of widows. These acts of simple humanity need to be remembered, along with one other important legacy of British India. We need to recognise the contribution of the Indian born children of the British, who were known colloquially as the “Anglo-Indians”. They have left an indelible impression upon our culture.

The symbiosis of Britain and India is part of our literary heritage. One prominent example of this is the work of M.M Kaye. Kaye was the author of “The Far Pavilions” and a writer who evoked the love and mutual respect between India and Britain.

Also Indian born writers like Sir Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth and others are part of a tradition of literature called the Indo-Anglian canon. Their unique contribution to our cultural life has been incalculable. Their powerful testimonies illuminate the darker side to the Empire. History is a mixture of light and shade and this is the only way that we can make sense of our combined destiny as the players of a questionable political game where only a few of us were willing participants.

Masters of Manipulation.

When we hear the word “Svengali” we imagine a shady character who manipulates the young and impressionable. In our modern lexicon such a character is a master of the dark arts, which allows him to bewitch others. The original “Svengali” was invented by George Du Maurier. He appears in his novel, “Trilby”.

Svengali is a dark and mysterious character, an habitué of Paris especially its garrets where the desperate young hopefuls gather and commune in their pursuit for stardom.

Svengali uses a degree of fake charm to ensnare his victims. In reality he is without charm. He is egotistical, cruel and conceited. His sole virtue is his knowledge and appreciation of music. The young ingénue who falls under his spell is the eponymous heroine Trilby. He endures his cruelty so she can become the chanteuse she dreamed about as a young girl. We soon discover that she has no natural talent for singing at all.

Svengali hypnotises her and she magically becomes a star of the musical stage. However her life soon vanishes as his devious campaign of manipulation deprives her of her own individuality. She is no longer Trilby, she is La Svengali, just another product of his ego. Her health deteriorates dramatically, her soul becomes an empty husk.

Svengali dies suddenly from a heart attack and Trilby dwindles like a dying star. It seems that even after his death he still has a hold over her. His spell seems to precipitate her own untimely demise.

“Trilby” is a moral fable about the power of rich and entitled men, and the young women who surrender to them in their search for stardom.

More Tales from The Black Meadow … — Folk Horror Revival & Urban Wyrd Review

Arriving through the dark and sodden mists and across the bare, barren fields comes ‘The Black Meadow Archive Volume 1’, a follow up of sorts to the compelling and essential ‘Tales of the Black Meadow’, which charted the mysterious happenings and events in the Black Meadow area of the North Yorkshire moors via the work […]
More Tales from The Black Meadow … — Folk Horror Revival & Urban Wyrd Review

Musty Books: “Mandog” by Lois Lamplugh & Peter Dickinson (1972) — The Haunted Generation

A book with a curious title, and one taken from a relatively minor plot point in this 1972 hardback adaptation of a little-remembered BBC1 children’s series. In a nutshell: a family dog, Radnor, becomes the physical host for the mind of Justin, one of a group of revolutionaries who time-travel to 1970s Southampton from a dystopian Britain, 600 years in the future.
Musty Books: “Mandog” by Lois Lamplugh & Peter Dickinson (1972) — The Haunted Generation

Opportunities:-

(Let`s make lots of misery)

(Apologies to the Pet Shop Boys).

Power is often acquired through a combination of fortune and ability, but crucially opportunity plays a role. The most outrageous kind of opportunist acquires a position of influence with underhand methods. Opportunists learn to exploit the vulnerability of others and realise that they can maintain a position of influence through force and bribery. Corruption remains a powerful tool.

The political theorist and writer Niccolo Machiavelli documented the worst aspects to power in his polemic “The Prince”. As a former diplomat he learned all of the tricks that kept the powerful in charge and also the tactics that allowed them to continue to act with impunity and without reproach.

However “The Prince” was written after he was exiled from the Court. He was a Florentine diplomat but when the Medici superseded the Florentines he was banished, then taken into custody, imprisoned and tortured.

It appeared that the new rulers regarded him with suspicion, however he was eventually released and he then began to write about the devious characters he encountered and some of the reprehensible behaviour that he observed.

Those with high status will use any tactic to keep their power. The reward is so great that they are willing to sacrifice their honour or even their humanity to keep their standing in society. They are deceptive, amoral and merciless. They learn how to manipulate others for their own ends.

It is easy for them to deceive the gullible and trusting, but the most ingenious can charm the most cynical of people. Flattery and obsequiousness are utilised and they can seem incredibly persuasive.

Such underhand tactics were perhaps expedient in the sixteenth century but are now believed to be at the very least dubious in our more civilised times. However Boris Johnson has employed Dominic Cummings as his special advisor and his actions seem familiar. He shares many of the characteristics originally illuminated by Machiavelli.

The ease in which Cummings divests Government staff from their posts is eerily reminiscent of this. He also appears to have a monstrous ego and is impervious to any criticism. It is obvious why Boris has utilised Cummings as an advisor, as he is a boorish brute who seems the type to become enamoured by a bully and control freak.

Cummings alienates everyone around him except Boris and that is a recipe for misery. Machiavelli was an astute observer of humanity at its worst but he was also a great poet and playwright of the Renaissance era. His insightful polemic should serve as a warning to all of us to be wary of those we choose to trust.

“You never saw so many phonies in your whole life.”

This is Holden Caulfield complaining about the fake and superficial culture that surrounds him. Caulfield is the unlikely hero of J.D Salinger`s novel “Catcher In The Rye”. This story captured the public imagination when it was published in 1951.

Over the years the novel became ingrained into the consciousness of a nation, and later upon the world. It became a timeless book because the adolescent narrator was so easily recognisable. The adolescent struggling to find meaning to his or her existence is a fundamental part of the human experience. This had never been written quite so evocatively before, at least in the rarefied tradition of American letters.

Caulfield is beset with disappointment and ennui. He is navigating a world which makes little sense to him and he instead daydreams about his youth, that innocent boy in the rye fields catching a hopeful vision of a future where he truly belongs. However as an awkward teen he feels that he has no real identity or purpose, his life is aimless and he has no direction or path to fulfilment. His educational and romantic ambitions are thwarted because he seems combative rather than conciliatory, a common perception attributed to awkward young people.

The adolescent loner is now a familiar trope within our culture. However in the 1950s the misunderstood, angry young man was considered to be an outrageous subject and Salinger`s novel was regarded as dangerous and subversive. The scandalous reputation of the book perpetuated for some twenty or so years. There were numerous schools in America where the book was banned. Salinger retreated from public life partly because of the infamy that was associated with his book.

The novel continues to provoke controversy as it has been widely misquoted and misunderstood and associated with notorious criminals like Mark Chapman. The murder of John Lennon was motivated by his crude interpretation of “phonies” within popular culture.

(Scene is the Dakota Building in the aftermath of John Lennon`s murder).

However the songs of Lennon and McCartney were not meant to be taken as concrete solutions to social and political problems, they were simply artistic interpretations of the world that surrounded them. Both Lennon and McCartney grew up in post-war Liverpool. Their city, like other provincial cities in Britain struggled with the privations of war, and the people were scarred from their experience. It was natural that a mantra of “peace and love” would emanate from their songs. The expression may have seemed naive, but the message was sincere.

The 2020s hold little hope for authenticity or sincerity. There is too much fakery and superficiality emanating from politicians and the media outlets that enable them. These are the real “phonies” in our society, the only truthful people who are left are the ones who want to create art and literature that is meaningful to us.

“Now I Understand What You Tried To Say To Me.”

This is the crucial lyric underpinning Don McLean`s “Vincent”, his paean to Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh has become the archetype of the misunderstood artist, which has now developed into something of a cliché. We no longer view the art or the artist as separate from this archetype and consequently dangerous myths about mental health continually abound.

McLean instead decides to focus upon the work he created and pays tribute to the social messages that lie within his art. He singles out “Starry Night” for its technical brilliance as a painting with a striking palette of blue and grey. It is often forgotten that he was an artistic innovator in regards to his technique, colour and perspective. However in his lifetime his paintings did not sell and he only survived partly due to the largesse of his brother Theo.

As the song says now we “understand” the stories behind each painting. His first painting was “The Potato Eaters”. This was his tribute to the Dutch peasants he befriended as a young missionary priest.

This stark portrait of poverty was regarded with perplexity and even distaste at the time, but only now we can see that he helped to illuminate the lives of a once invisible people. These people were finally allowed to be seen with humanity and dignity, and are immortalised in our memories for ever as “the weathered faces lined in pain soothed by Vincent`s loving hand”.

Many of his paintings are portraits of the rural poor, “the ragged men in ragged clothes”. People “with eyes that watch the world and can`t forget”. Van Gogh`s portraits stood out from the more traditional portraits of artists` rich patrons and benefactors. It shows that he had a real affinity with the poorer members of society to the extent that for a time as a young priest he sold off all of his possessions and lived amongst them.

His work is now overshadowed by the tragic events that occurred in the last two years of his life, the breakdowns, the committals, the self-harming incident in which he sliced off his ear, and his suicide in which he died a slow and agonising death from a bullet wound. All of this feeds into the perverse and pervasive myth of the so-called “mad genius”. This is simply an example of a dehumanising way of labelling someone and it reveals a misinformed and out of date depiction of mental illness.

During the late nineteenth century mental illnesses were poorly understood and there was much more stigma surrounding the sufferer than today. Van Gogh`s family knew that he had mental health difficulties but they were powerless and did not know how to deal with them. In our modern understanding we realise that there are multiple factors-both genetic and environmental that cause such difficulties.

However the stigma has not gone away. Misinformation about psychiatry and psychiatric illness still abound. There is no other branch of medicine which has created so much confusion in the general public and there is no other strata of illness which merits the same disapproval from them. Unlike other illnesses and disabilities, people with mental health problems are often judged according to their character, or moral questions are posited to them. Consequently a culture of blame surrounds them as if they are totally responsible for their illness owing to some kind of innate turpitude or personal weakness.

The truth is this, psychiatry is a real branch of medicine which deals with conditions of the head, brain and nervous system. It is vital to also point out that there is actually no difference between “physical” and “mental” health. Mental health IS physical health! As I mentioned earlier, these are disorders of the head, brain and nervous system. It is slightly different to neurology which deals with “organic” diseases (like brain tumours, epilepsy, migraine etc.) Psychiatry is different because it deals with “functional” diseases (like depression, psychosis etc.) There is a general consensus that psychiatric illness is caused by a malfunction in the brain and the chemicals and neurotransmitters are faulty. Once people are aware of all of this there will be greater understanding towards these problems and hopefully sufferers will be seen as “human” again.

My original point still stands, Vincent Van Gogh was a great artist with a tremendous perception. He showed great empathy towards the poor people living on subsistence and allowed us an insight into their lives. He also suffered from a mental illness which was misunderstood and lead to his untimely death, but we should not let that fact overshadow his great art.

Self(ie) Portrait

In Oscar Wilde`s 1890 novel “The Picture of Dorian Grey”, the protagonist sells his soul to ensure that he will remain young and beautiful and only his painted likeness will age and fade. It is a fable of narcissism and vanity. Grey lives a life of debauchery. He is free from responsibility, conscience and does not possess a moral compass. He is a libertine who cares little for others and is entitled, boorish and arrogant. However he is feted by society due to his dazzling beauty.

Today the opposite appears to be happening. The surface, rather than the substance of a person`s life is feted on social media. The “optics” on their profile are the prime consideration. The obsessive desire to capture and curate the best photographs has cost lives. In the last 5 years over 200 people have died from accidents like falling whilst they were in the process of taking “selfies”. All that remains from these unfortunate people`s lives are the pictures of their youth and beauty rather than the meaning from their inner lives.

In contrast to this, the more naive or inexpert visuals receive less validation. If a person`s timeline features fewer of these visuals and more content of a socially conscious nature then inevitably this evokes more negativity and the familiar insult of “virtue signalling”, no matter how heartfelt the sentiment actually is. I believe that more focus should be placed upon the substance of things.

The Gallows Pole & The Shining Levels : Review and Interview — Folk Horror Revival & Urban Wyrd Review

Never judge a book by its cover or so ‘they’ say … whomever ‘they’ are, ‘they’ don’t always get it right. The cover artwork of Benjamin Myer’s 2017 novel ‘The Gallows Pole’ designed by Delaney Williams captivated me at first sight. Instant reaction was that this wasn’t a new book but was one of Penguin […]
The Gallows Pole & The Shining Levels : Review and Interview — Folk Horror Revival & Urban Wyrd Review

Grime and Punishment.

The previous decade has been celebrated as a time of artistic innovation, especially in music. A new subculture emerged called “grime”. It was chiefly the music of young black British men living in London. As the name suggests the music evoked a spare urban landscape fraught with danger and crime. The lyrics were similarly spare, often composed in an aggressive demotic style and to some listeners the rhymes appeared to be markedly vulgar. Grime artists sometimes boasted about their sexual prowess but this was obviously a show of bravado when mere survival on the streets was so precarious.

However this raw and stark style isn`t that new, in fact it is almost a century old. Back then there were poets and writers who documented their fraught and dangerous lives, often exposing scandal and social taboos in the process. Jean Genet is one example. His mother was a prostitute and he was born in a Paris hostel in 1910. He spent his first year of life in a state run orphanage and was then sent to a foster family in the country. He became a habitual thief during his teenage years and was confined to institutions for several years. After his final period of incarceration he was called up for military service. His service record was characteristically dishonourable as he deserted his post to travel.

He lived his life as an itinerant, petty thief and male prostitute but documented it in a series of novels which have been described by his biographer Stephen Barber as composed in

“a language that veers wildly from splendour to obscenity, from argot to elegy”.

His debut novel “Our Lady of The Flowers” was originally published in 1943 but only in a limited capacity owing to its frank subject matter and descriptions of transgressive sexuality.

His fortune changed after the War, perhaps owing to his notoriety as his once limited publications soon became collector`s items and generated more income for him. He was also championed by another French writer, Jean Cocteau.

Jean Genet`s oeuvre was misunderstood for many years, it was denounced as pornography or the work of a deviant criminal. Genet`s work is recognised now as an important voice in LGBT history. He was a trailblazer writing about a community that faced confinement and even death during the years of Nazi occupation. His novels actually subvert the power dynamic in a similar way that Grime speaks for a community oppressed by poverty and racism.

Transgressive art is demonised by powerful people but it offers a creative outlet for communities who feel that they are ignored, silenced or condemned by wider society.