tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post7927317413733260324..comments2023-10-03T11:41:21.191+01:00Comments on The Truth About Lies: Twisted Velvet ChainsJim Murdochhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-66197812017015263402011-08-02T10:36:39.116+01:002011-08-02T10:36:39.116+01:00Thank you, Theresa, and nice of you to pass commen...Thank you, <b>Theresa</b>, and nice of you to pass comment. I have to say this was quite an enjoyable project once I got into it. I was quite dreading it at first – I find reviewing poetry hard work and put a disproportionate amount of effort into it – but once I started to trawl through Jessica’s old blogs (yes, I read every single one of them) it was clear I had tons of material to work with and I could relax a bit.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-18624396731246438862011-08-02T01:39:24.552+01:002011-08-02T01:39:24.552+01:00Jessica, you look so much like your mom.
Jim, thi...Jessica, you look so much like your mom.<br /><br />Jim, this was such a thorough post. Thanks for doing so much research to write it.Theresa Milsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477761307315565259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-34361078321520050772011-07-23T09:55:12.422+01:002011-07-23T09:55:12.422+01:00It always helps to have a fabulous subject, Angela...It always helps to have a fabulous subject, <b>Angela</b>. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Glad you enjoyed it.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-79036571114941854192011-07-23T02:05:03.444+01:002011-07-23T02:05:03.444+01:00Jim, wow! You are a fabulous writer. This pulled m...Jim, wow! You are a fabulous writer. This pulled me in from the first word. I couldn't stop reading.Angelahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12399082789777816445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-24548287152697266172011-07-21T10:32:38.864+01:002011-07-21T10:32:38.864+01:00Well, I won’t pretend for a minute that a lot of w...Well, I won’t pretend for a minute that a lot of work didn’t go into this, <b>Matthew</b>, but I wouldn’t have invested the time did I not think this was a worthwhile project. I’ve a lot of time for Jessica and I think she has potential. The real test will come, certainly as far as her poetry goes, in not retreading the same ground over and over again but finding a similar rich resource will be hard. Then again I’ve yet to read her novel so perhaps her future lies in prose. Who knows? I kept both going and even though I’m a poet at heart I recognise that poetry has its limitations, at least in my hands.<br /><br />And, <b>Clarissa</b>, yes, that’s something we all tend to do, assume that any poem with ‘I’ in it is autobiographical and factually accurate. Poetry is fiction, it is made up. It may draw more heavily on personal experience than a lot of prose but it’s still mostly fiction. That, as Jessica says, does not mean it is not honest; there is a difference.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-32431174603078535262011-07-20T21:33:21.148+01:002011-07-20T21:33:21.148+01:00Wow, Jim, what a review! And yes, it was my error ...Wow, Jim, what a review! And yes, it was my error in thinking that it was completely based on truth. What a great in depth look at the artist and what goes into making a poetry book work.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12160669603997465454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-66772743655498021652011-07-20T19:19:17.905+01:002011-07-20T19:19:17.905+01:00Wow. Excellent work here, Jim. I can't really ...Wow. Excellent work here, Jim. I can't really fathom the amount of work that must have gone into this.<br /><br />Jessica is a dear friend, so it's tough to think about all of this, but clearly her gift for language has allowed her to transcend all this suffering in some way.<br /><br />After all, isn't that why we write?Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-74217895662229161422011-07-20T18:02:16.595+01:002011-07-20T18:02:16.595+01:00Jessica, you’re very welcome. Doing the research w...<b>Jessica</b>, you’re very welcome. Doing the research was interesting – we read each other’s blogs all the time but there is just so much to take in that’s it’s not until someone stops and gathers it all together in one stop do we find out all that we’ve revealed. <br /><br /><b>Sangu</b>, there are so many people who can say that and it’s a shame. It’s like saying, “I don’t like classical music,” – which many people say they don’t – and then you start pointing out all the snippets of classical music in their lives. Yes, there is some classical music that is indigestible and there is some that just screams “clichéd and boring” from the roofs and then there is the good stuff that takes you by surprise usually in soundtracks. I personally don’t see a lot of Plath here although I can see where you’re coming from. This stuff is far more accessible than Plath, at least the Plath I’ve read.<br /><br /><b>Lis</b>, when I found out about Gwen Harwood in doing this research I decided I wanted to read more of her than I could find online so I went ahead and bought the book I quoted from in the article. I’ve read through it once to get a flavour of her but I will come back to her in the future and maybe do an article. She seems a fascinating character.<br /><br />I can’t say that, in my personal experience, what Nancy Miller is saying in your quote resonates with me. In the post I did a wee while ago where I tried to write a couple of paragraphs talking about my dad’s drinking I found the facts – what he did, when and how – clouded the ‘truth’ for me; the poem simplifies and makes the truth malleable. When I try and talk about my real dad and his real drinking issues there are too many other issues that are there in the background. Why did he start drinking in the first place? Because he went on constant night shift and couldn’t sleep. That’s the simple answer. The bigger question is: Was he so naïve that he thought he could medicate himself with whisky and there would be no consequences? I know that both versions of what I wrote were not factually correct and they were only ‘honest’ in that I’m being honest about the point I’m trying to make, not honest in that I’m providing an accurate account. I think that’s where Jessica’s poetry is honest too.<br /><br />And, <b>Dave</b>, I think I’ve answered your question talking to Lis: honesty of intent as opposed to honesty in reporting the facts. If you decide to go for the book I hope you’re not disappointed. I don’t think you will be.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-82099197424878985422011-07-20T14:39:20.101+01:002011-07-20T14:39:20.101+01:00It will not lie down, this question of the relatio...It will not lie down, this question of the relation between historical accuracy and truth. Does the lack of the one preclude the other? I think it does - sometimes. Probably not in this case, though. There is so much material here and you have so whetted my appetite that I'm beginning to think I must read the book. Thanks for an absorbing postDave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-55315367847825078352011-07-20T13:53:19.286+01:002011-07-20T13:53:19.286+01:00What a terrific post, Jim. Thanks for reviewing a...What a terrific post, Jim. Thanks for reviewing another Australian. I have so many thoughts here. <br /><br /> I follow Jessica's blog, so I'm already familiar with this talented young woman. <br /><br />My seventeen year old in her final year at school is studying Gwen Harwood who is well known here in Australia, at least to some of us and I can see the connection between Harwood's work and Jessica's. <br /><br />As for the thorny old stuff about fact versus fiction, I found a good reference today from Nancy Miller, academic and memoirist. She writes: <br /><br />'As a writer, the answer to the question of what ‘really’ happened is literary – or at least textual. I will only know it when I write it. When I write it, the truth will lie in the writing. But the writing may not be the truth; it may only look like it. To me.'<br /><br />Thanks, Jim and Jessica, what a fantastic story. <br /><br />The other person who comes to mind now via the link to Greece and Ithaca is Charmaine Clift, another Australian expat and writer who once made her home in Greece and left her mark in our literature on both places. <br /><br />The music and lyrics here are stunning. Jessica and her mum make me proud to be Australian. Not that I'm into nationalism.Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015624747225433940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-2240309919719756822011-07-20T12:59:57.937+01:002011-07-20T12:59:57.937+01:00I'm not normally a poetry reader, but I've...I'm not normally a poetry reader, but I've always found Jessica's story and voice so intriguing that I really must get my hands on this. There's a Sylvia Plath-ish feel here that I love - thank you for going so deeply into this, Jim, it's a fantastic post!Sangu Mandannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09464061265952789628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6327348657265652781.post-89701538030341297092011-07-20T10:42:38.411+01:002011-07-20T10:42:38.411+01:00Thanks for having me, Jim. Really appreciate the e...Thanks for having me, Jim. Really appreciate the effort you've gone to. I'm on vacation at the moment, but I'll be sure to give this a plug on my return.<br /><br />Thanks again!Jessica Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10889900730906728317noreply@blogger.com