Fiddler's Dog

Monday 20 April 2015

The Fable of the Autoharp in the North NOTES

The Fable of the Autoharp in the North NOTES

I have been told that my Fable of the Autoharp in the North has become curiously invisible on the web. So, I have put the text here on my blog, where a web search will find it. The Fable was written as part of the lead-up to the Gargrave Autoharp Festival 2014.

And here are some notes...

Obsessive narratologists will recognise that the Fable of the Autoharp is a version of the very old story of the Sailor and the Oar – except that I have turned it on its head.

In the story the Sailor who is tired of the Sea – or is afraid of the Sea – puts an Oar on his shoulder, and walks inland, until he meets a passer-by who has never seen an Oar. The passer-by says, ‘Where are you going with that threshing flail?’ Or some such. And so the Sailor knows that he is finally safe from the Sea.

In literature most people come across the story in Homer, The Odysssey, where it is not so much told as foretold - twice.

First, during Ulysses' foray into the Underworld, where the blind (and dead) poet Tiresias tells Ulysses how he can make peace with the God of the Sea, Poseidon - he must journey, with an Oar, until he reaches a people and a land with no knowledge of the Sea, and there he must erect an altar to the God of the Sea.

Second, Ulysses himself tells the story to Penelope, that he must in the future make this one last journey out of Ithaca. These foretellings make for an odd choice of tenses.

Our guide to the background is William F. Hansen, who - in two splendid articles - shows that the story of the Sailor and the Oar is one of those widely spread folktales absorbed by Homer into Homer. Hansen shows the same story told about Saint Elias and Saint Nicholas, and turning up in the present day in anecdotes and in jokes - a pattern that will be familiar to readers of my own chapter, 'The Irish joke'.

Hansen pauses to note the oddity that many translations of Homer have the inlander mistaking the oar, not for a 'chaff-wrecker', a threshing flail or a winnowing shovel, but for a winnowing fan or a winnowing basket. Then the story is wrecked - no one can mistake a long wooden thing for a kind of basket.

When I was working on my version, the Fable of the Autoharp, my wife and I quickly worked out what kind of thing an autoharp might be mistaken for - 'cheese-grater' is the usual insult. The autoharp certainly has its limitations, and it would help if the thing would stay in tune. It is a difficult instrument for musicians to get their heads round, when they meet it first. With most musical instruments you are creating chords - with the autoharp you are unpacking chords

Hansen is very good on the notion that the 'Oar Test' works through silence. The Sailor just has to carry his thing, and walk, until others speak to him. Dialogue, Hansen wisely points out, would protract the tale 'uncomically'. And so it is with my Fable.

All this arose from my thinking through what it was we were trying to achieve with the Gargrave Autoharp Festival - the creation of a place where the autoharp would be known and be made welcome. Albeit with Yorkshire bluntness.

Patrick O'Sullivan

References

Incollection (Hansen1990Odysseus)
Hansen, W. F.
Edmunds, L. (Ed.)
Odysseus and the Oar: A Folkloric Approach
Approaches to Greek Myth, Approaches to Greek Myth, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990, 241-274

The Fable of the Autoharp in the North TEXT

The Fable of the Autoharp in the North

The story so far…

An autoharper put his autoharp into its bag, slung the bag over his shoulder and began to travel north. He came to a small and pretty village, took out his autoharp— but he did not play it. He sat on a bench, and put the autoharp on the bench beside him. So, they sat there, the man and his autoharp, until a passer-by passed by. I cannot tell you much about this passer-by — but I can tell you this: he had a very big nose. The passer-by paused, gave a nosy look, and said, ‘That’s a strange looking chili-dryer…’

The autoharper said not a word, packed his autoharp into its bag, slung the bag over his shoulder, and travelled on, north. He can be criticised for this, I know. But I think that his behaviour is understandable. In the circumstances.

And he came to a charming town, sat on a bench, took out his autoharp – but he did not play it. He put the autoharp on the bench beside him. And they sat there together, the man and his autoharp, ignoring each other. Until a passer-by passed by. I cannot tell you much about this passer-by — but I can tell you this: he had one eye bigger than the other. The passer-by paused, aimed a beady eye, and said, ‘That’s a strange looking pasta machine…’

And the autoharper sighed, and packed up his autoharp, and travelled, north.

Then he came to another pretty town, and — as before — sat and waited, with his autoharp beside him. And there was a bystander. I cannot tell you much about this bystander — but I can tell you this: he needed a shave. And the bystander pointed a whiskery chin, and said, ‘That’s a strange looking cheese grater…’

And the autoharper said not a word, not a word. He packed up his autoharp and travelled on, still north.

And he came to a very pretty village, with everything you would want, a pub, an old stone church, an old stone bridge over a clear river, a tea shop. And the autoharper took out his autoharp, and put it on the bench beside him. And he waited. And there was a passer-by. I cannot tell you much about this passer-by — but I can tell you this: she had a very good ear. And she said to the autoharper, ‘Are you going to play that autoharp or not?’

And by this he knew that he had finally reached Gargrave, where everyone knows what an autoharp looks like. And they like to hear the autoharp played, in the pub, in the church and in the tea shop. And, of course, in the Gargrave Village Hall.

And the autoharper picked up his autoharp, cuddled it to his chest, and played and played and played. Until his fingers bled.

Which was not wise. But is understandable. In the circumstances.

Friday 17 April 2015

Article Published: Visualising the Emigrant Letter

An article reporting on the first parts of the Irish Emigrant Letter projects has at last been published in the Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales (REMI)- there were many delays on the journal side, and the article finally appears with a 2014 publication date.

Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 2014, 30 (3 & 4), pp. 49-69

Emma Moreton, Niall O’Leary and Patrick O’Sullivan

Visualising the Emigrant Letter

ABSTRACT - see below..

http://remi.revues.org/?lang=en

The article, as published, is a compact summary of much discussion, and incorporates many different kinds of expertise from the research network - notably of course the expertise of the three co-authors...

Emma Moreton

Linguistics, digitalisation and annotation...

Emma Moreton

Niall O'Leary

IT/Digital Humanities Consultancy, Visualisation

Niall O'Leary

Patrick O'Sullivan

Irish Diaspora Studies - for example at...

Patrick O'Sullivan ARCHIVE

You can see some of Niall O'Leary's visualisations at

http://development.nialloleary.ie/correspondence/correspondence.php

For me participation in the research network was part of the neverending quest for enlightenment - in this case, a better understanding of the Digital Humanities. I have written formally to Emma Moreton, thanking her for that.

So, yes, I wanted a better understanding of the technologies and the processes, but in the back of my mind there were two questions:

did the amount of effort that had to be put into a Digital Humanities project genuinely answer existing research questions, and explore research issues?

did that effort create new research questions and new methodologies for the traditional humanities?

The answer to both questions is, Yes.

This becomes very clear, easily clear, within Irish Diaspora Studies.

I am currently writing the more considered, 'Irish', version of the material, with a much larger word count, which can expand on the detail. We like detail.

The journal, the Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, has made its entire collection, dating from 1985 to 2001, available online at Persée.fr. Since 2002 every issue published has been added to the free public portal Revues.org,

funded by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Ministry of Research, and designed to be a home for the most prestigious French journals in the field of the Humanities and Social Science. The latest issues published are available for online sale at Cairn.info, with a three year restriction. I am sorry about that - but at least the French are making an effort.

Patrick O'Sullivan

Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, 2014, 30 (3 & 4), pp. 49-69

Emma Moreton, Niall O’Leary and Patrick O’Sullivan

Visualising the Emigrant Letter

ABSTRACT

Emigrant letters are a rich resource for teaching and learning, transcending disciplinary and methodological boundaries. They are expressive and indicative of correspondents’ identities, values, preoccupations and beliefs, providing a powerful source of information about migration issues and shedding light on processes of language change and variation. Although many emigrant letter collections have now been digitised, not all are properly archived; some are reduplicated and others are in danger of being lost. The documentation and preservation of such letters is, therefore, a particularly pressing need. In 2013, an AHRC research network was established to look at ways of improving interconnectivity between digital collections of migrant correspondence. This paper reports on work carried out so far, focusing on how emigrant letter projects might move beyond the digitisation stage to exploit text content and enhance usability and searchability through the use of visualisation tools.

Wednesday 25 March 2015

Irish Community in England, ANALYSIS OF 2011 CENSUS DATA

It is wrong to be entirely cynical about the Irish Government's new publication, and its new diaspora policy...

Global Irish Ireland’s Diaspora Policy March 2015

https://www.dfa.ie/media/globalirish/global-irish-irelands-diaspora-policy.pdf

Though a web search will find much cynical, or at least cautious, comment. Here is the Irish Times...

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/generation-emigration/first-ever-irish-diaspora-policy-published-by-government-1.2124286

And all small nations have learnt to be be cautious about relationships with diasporas...

A useful corrective is a sensible piece of analysis by Louise Ryan and colleagues......

ANALYSIS OF 2011 CENSUS DATA
Irish Community Statistics, England and
Selected Urban Areas
REPORT FOR ENGLAND
Louise Ryan, Alessio D’Angelo, Michael Puniskis, Neil Kaye
July 2014

http://www.irishinbritain.org/cmsfiles/Downloads/Reports/Irish-Census-Analysis-Report---England.pdf

Patrick O'Sullivan
March 2015

Sunday 22 February 2015

Louth Navigation Trust epetition - please sign

Louth Navigation Trust need to clarify ownership of the waterway, in order to continue the work of restoration...

1.

Louth Navigation Trust epetition

Louth Navigation Trust to have full access to restore and operate the Louth Canal

Responsible department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

To allow the Louth Navigation Trust, a registered charity to restore the full length of the Louth canal and bring watercourse back into full operational use. This would encompass renovating or renewing existing locks and associated canal structures including banks together with an operational depth put in place for boats/craft to use as a navigable waterway.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/70914

Louth Navigation Trust

http://www.louthcanal.org.uk/

The Louth Navigation Trust was formed in 1986 to promote the canal as an amenity, and has established a base in a restored canal warehouse in Louth. A feasibility study for restoring the canal for navigation was commissioned in 2004, and the Trust is hoping that this could be a reality by 2020.

Louth Navigation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louth_Navigation

Wednesday 11 February 2015

A gentleman and a poet

A number of times recently I have found myself acting as The Spouse at my wife's formal events. It is not hard. I can do it.

At one such event, a young woman came and sat next to me and said, 'Are you the gentleman who is a poet?'

Where to begin? With John Ball, perhaps, and William Morris:

When Adam delved and Eve span
Who was then the gentleman?

http://morrisedition.lib.uiowa.edu/dream.html

Is a gentleman simply some man who has stolen our assets? Or, another introduction to the delicate weave of English culture around that word, Elizabeth Bennett, during that walk in the wilderness, confronts Lady Catherine de Bourgh, on rumours of an engagement: 'He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter; so far we are equal.' Would I, by accepting that word, be claiming equality with Colin Firth?

http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/ppv3n56.html

Many times in the day, of course, I am relieved to accept the categorisation. Recalling, then, Jonathan Miller on that 'unpunctuated motto', 'Gentlemen lift the seat'. 'Is it a sociological description - a definition of a gentleman which I can either take or leave?'

(Kate Bassett, In Two Minds: a Biography of Jonathan Miller, 2014, reminds us that the quote comes from the monologue about trousers lost on London's railways.)

Moving along, to the second part of the question... It is true that I have written and do write poetry. For example, I did write an elegant villanelle when I was wooing my wife. These things are unavoidable.

And it is true that I have published Love Death And Whiskey, a book of my song lyrics.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Death-Whiskey-Patrick-OSullivan/dp/095678240X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

In my own world I make a distinction between my song lyrics and my poems. Simply put, a song lyric is a thing of gaps, gaps for other creative people to fill. But people have chosen to speak of my song lyrics as 'poetry'. Terry Jones, on Amazon and on Twitter, said of my book, ' a great book for those nervous of poetry. They are simply wonderful lyrics...' If we analyse this deeply (everything said by Terry Jones can be analysed deeply...) there seems to be some sort of problem around 'poetry' that my work addresses.

Sometimes people have said to me that they like my 'poems', and I have tried to explain my song/poem distinction - thereby, absurdly, quarrelling with people who like my work. Some have fought back, gamely, reading out loud my own work to me, in order to prove to me that my song lyrics are 'poems'. At this point it is clear that I have misunderstood the argument, and should just shut up.

Yet, readers of this blog will know that I am uncomfortable with some of the exercises required of a 'poet' - see below, by way of contrast, my happy encounter with Laurie Lee.

Would I be happy, then, to be called a poet? I am, I suppose, happy with the word, a doer, a maker, a Makar - as the Scots have it.

And so, after what you might well think was insufficient consideration, I did answer the question. 'Are you the gentleman who is a poet?' I said, Yes.

Patrick O'Sullivan
February 2015

Monday 2 February 2015

O'Sullivan, Mercier, Notes

This is really, maybe, a 'Libraries Prequel...' I wrote these notes last month to answer some of the queries I get about my piece on Mercier's The Irish Comic Tradition...

http://www.mediafire.com/view/pdv44q6atlon2tw/2004%2C%20O'Sullivan%2C%20On%20First%20Looking%20into%20Mercier's%20The%20Irish%20Comic%20Tradition.pdf

http://www.mediafire.com/view/guug7tjjtid184k/2015%2C%20O'Sullivan%2C%20Mercier%2C%20NOTES.txt

January 2015

Some notes on

Article (OSulliv2004First)

O'Sullivan, P.

On First Looking into Mercier's The Irish Comic Tradition

New Hibernia Review, 2004, 8, 152-157

John Bayley
I have just heard the news of the death of John Bayley, who is mentioned in my piece. Where his name is spelt 'John Bailey'. I do not know how that happened. Might even be the Curse of Autocorrect, as the text was passed from hand to hand. For such a small piece this article needed a lot of negotiation with editors. Witness the correct academic American English usage in 'an homage'...

John Bayley, who was a kind and good teacher, is mentioned in my article as, perhaps, denotative of a certain approach to texts, involving close, sensitive reading. He was a decent man.

Here is The Guardian's Obituary...

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jan/22/john-bayley

Kensington Library, Liverpool
is the little local library remembered with gratitude. When I was writing the piece I looked around for some pictures of the building, partly to prompt memory. I was writing for an austere academic journal - so no pictures could be used. At one point in the writing of the piece there was a danger that it would become a study of the libraries rather than of the book. Finding pictures has become much easier with the passage of time. It was, and still is, a very fine little building. There is a note about the building by Reg Towner, and a very nice drawing at

https://www.flickr.com/photos/townerassociates/15362517188/

Reg Towner also directs us to a photograph...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/townerassociates/6079754979/in/set-72157632645145124

Designed by Thomas Shelmerdine for Liverpool City Council, funded by Andrew Carnegie, of course. Built 1890, modified 1897 - with the addition of that bigger wing. Which I like - I like the off balance look of the building.

The Victorian Society has a useful leaflet at

http://www.victoriansociety.org.uk/regions/LI-Liverpool_newsletter_Dec_2011.pdf

And a web search for Thomas Shelmerdine will find more odds and ends. The Everton Public Library, Liverpool - also designed by Shelmerdine - is used by Alistair Black for some general pontification. Which I do not object to...

http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/victorian_review/v039/39.1.black.html

Everton Public Library

Alistair Black

Victorian Review Volume 39, Number 1, Spring 2013 pp. 40-44

He summarises some of the discussion about these buildings, and these resources. All under threat, now.

It was there, when we needed it, where we needed it...

3.
Picton Reading Room, Liverpool, and Bodleian Library, Oxford

It is easy enough to find pictures of these places online.

The Picton Reading Room and the surrounding buildings have recently, 2010-13, been given a make-over...

http://www.shepherd-construction.co.uk/newsitem/full-glory-of-liverpool-central-library-picton-reading-room-re-emerges-as-work-progresses_p238_c3.aspx

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/liverpools-new-central-library-revealed-3324449

Hard to judge from photographs - but have they done something to the floor levels within the Picton Reading Room?

When I gave up being a probation officer I went to the Bodleian Library - to repair my prose style. There I did the reading and the research to write

Incollection (OSullivan1989literary)

O'Sullivan, P.

Swift, R. & Gilley, S. (Eds.) A literary difficulty in explaining Ireland: Tom Moore and Captain Rock, 1824

The Irish in Britain: 1815-1939, Pinter, 1989, 239-74

Which was given that daft title by our esteemed editors. People keep asking me what that title means - I have no idea what it means.

The point of places like the Picton Reading Room or the Bodleian Library is that any thought, any thought, can be followed into the research record.

4.
Do note that the two chapters from The Irish World Wide, which are mentioned in my Mercier piece, are available on that free MediaFire.

That is, Barry Coldrey on the Christian Brothers, and my own chapter,

'The Irish joke'...

O'Sullivan, P.

O'Sullivan, P. (Ed.) The Irish joke

The Creative Migrant, Leicester University Press, 1994, 3, 57-82

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/ooj5btdttc9y4/Documents

Patrick O'Sullivan