Week 4 – Religious Identity through Story
This week we looked at various examples of religious identity in narratives. The first intensive day approached this from a predominantly Christian and Judaist approach. This was deeply insightful as it allowed us to learn about different religious practices whilst thinking of how narratives exist as a whole – and are structured according to denominational practice. The second intensive day opened with an exploration of Scottish literature and folklore, and concluded with a truly fascinating and intimate discussion with Edinburgh’s 2017 maker: Alan Spence. Throughout both days, there were several highlights which I will record here.
Our opening discussion on the Christian Bibles’ parable of ‘The Prodigal Son’ allowed us to absorb the narrative, whilst also inviting us to think about how we might reconstruct our narratives ourselves (as contemporary and modern receivers). Some common points raised were on the lack of female presence in the original parable, and on the ‘villainisation’ of the elder brother. Our group (Emily and I) came up with the following possible reinterpretation of the parable (if we were to present it to a modern audience), in response to the following prompt:
Explore the contrast between the parable of the Prodigal Son as comfortable myth and alienating literary reality by either:
- Preparing to enact the story from the perspective of a modern reader such as the speaker of one of the poems.
- Retelling the story from the perspective of a character who is not mentioned in the parable but might reasonably have been present (mother, sister, villager…)
Our response was to create a new piece that captures/conveys:
- A nanny-figure that’s been responsible for raising him from childhood, but that doesn’t have the same rights as his mother would have. She’s the stand-in for the absent mother figure. This is why she isn’t a participant in the trinity of embrace and reunion.
- He returns but she doesn’t recognise him, their bond has been broken. He is no longer the fine master of the house she helped to raise. He has grown into a man, but not a man she recognises. He’s unlike the father and brother, the masters of the house – a stranger in his home.
- This version would work most powerfully as a painting – we’re peering past her shoulder at the reunion, the father and the brother are in broad strokes of red, but the prodigal son is blurry around the edges and in neutral colours (think of ‘The Scream’ in terms of an ‘other’ appearance).
The first day concluded with a seminar centred around Judaism, and the floor was opened to ask several questions – some more difficult than others. I was impressed to see how well the seminar was handled, and how respectful each classmate was towards each other. Personally, I enjoyed learning about The Seder plate which traditionally consists of:
- Zeroh: lamb shank bone (with or without meat on it), roasted chicken wing or leg, roasted turkey leg, calf bone; vegetarian versions: yam, red beet, a toy bone from a cooking playset.
- Beitzah/Egg (new life): hard boiled or roasted egg; vegan versions: flower, mushroom, rice.
- Maror (Egyptian oppression over the Israelites): horseradish root, horseradish with beet juice and vinegar.
- Hazeret (bitterness of slavery): onion, leek, lettuce.
- Haroset (mortar): mixture of fruits and nuts.
- Karpas (for dipping into salt water): parsley, chard, lettuce.
- Also on the table: Liquid representing tears and sweat of enslaved Israelites: vinegar (white, red, wine, cider, etc.), lemon juice, lime juice, saltwater.
- Matzah: bread cracker made of flour and water.
As a Scottish literature graduate from the University of Glasgow, I was very familiar with the content we covered in the first-half of the second day of the intensive. However, it was succinctly delivered nevertheless and I enjoyed revisiting specific elements of my undergraduate course. My personal highlight was Maker Alan Spence‘s interpretation of the concept of spirituality and the state of being zen. Some key points on the subject(s) that he made were:
- Spirituality outside of tradition, denomination, and faith. Everyone encounters things that seem beyond coincidence or things that fall into place. A spiritual dimension to your being that might not connect to your religious background or present faith. A personal spiritual core within yourself and within everyone else – a connection to all.
- Zen and the spirit as existing beyond the material – connects to the work you put in. The practice of meditation and how it can affect your writing in unlocking a wellspring. ‘The utter ordinance of the miraculous – to breathe, just to be alive, is all.’ – Spence.
- Spirituality as the recognition of life, an acceptance of your own personal life, and the gratefulness to be alive. In spite of the dark aspects of the world/life.
- “The world offers itself to your imagination” – Mary Oliver, Wild Goose.
- Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics – Book recommendation.
- The Japanese author and poet Mashima who captured the essence of Zen.
- Poetry is religion – once there is a detachment from ecclesiastical duties.
- Our consciousness as entropic, reflecting our role in the universe.
- A whole story in the palm of a hand – collection of transcription of dreams. Dreams as existing at different levels of your consciousness.
- Linked haiku – the link should be subtle, like the gentle smell of perfume from someone sitting next to you.
- Writing someone else’s story, whether in a novel or as a play etc., as a collaborative process – the co-authoring of narrative.
All in all, it was a truly enjoyable and cathartic (most likely encouraged by the small class size of eight) intensive, and I have come away from it with a newfound respect and interest towards other faiths, and a greater understanding of how narratives can be structured to convey faith and tradition. I look forward to the group project which I’m sure will further my interest in the topic further!
