Jon Orsi. Joby

Let me just say that I haven't really been given much confidence in my namesake -Jonathan- Plotz suggests me and David (my middle name) go off together into the biblical "broke back mountain" and fondle each other.   Then we don't really much of  me (Jonathan) since. But now, my other 'familial namesake' that is, the name by which my family refers to me -Joby-  has come up aaaannnd...what's the deal here dad?

The book of Job is drenched in the awful. It is full of the human condition of emptiness.
But as we uncovered, awful means full of awe. And, at the moment of complete emptiness is often the moment where we begin to be refilled, fulfilled.

This completes the proverbial "It's always darkest before the dawn"

But it has far wider breadth and depth than a proverb "our grandparents wont stop saying"

To tie this back to my revisited and revived literary obsession: Beckett.
The book of Job clearly is inspiration for nearly all of his work. I have spent hours exploring and probing this central and reoccurring theme in every work from Beckett I have read, and that is the simple, "Come and Go" or "To and Fro"
This seemingly colloquial literary dyad, is perhaps the most distilled euphemism for all of life.
 To come and go, and all things in between.

and sure enough, Book Three of  Job. God And Satan. (again the absolution of life in duality)

2: And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Now this minimalism, when all of existence reaches its Nadir  is the -almost unreachable- moment of life that Artists like Beckett are obsessed with. and at what point can the human condition be stripped away of all that comprise it? From this point of zero( "unimaginable zero summer" as Eliot would have it) is there anything? can we go on from zero?
Beckett would go on.
Job went on.

And clearly is what the story of Job deals with, how low, how depleted can life really become. Where is  closest to absolute zero? and what comes next?

And it seems that for those who have gone on, they attain a pure moment. This...thing is unable to be placed into words, for it is the opposite of zero (infinity?). Despite its unnameable nature, it becomes Job.

Frye, in his closing passage from words with Power, discusses this moment of inversion from the point of zero to... understanding.
"When int infinitely remote creation is re-presented to him, he becomes a participant in it: that is, he becomes creative himself, as heaven and earth are made new for him. he is given no new discovery, but gains a deeper apprehension of what is already there. This deeper apprehension is not simply more wisdom, but an access of power."  312

or a little further on, the closing sentence (you'd expect it to be good wouldn't you?) of the book,
"After that, perhaps, the terrifying and welcome voice may begin, annihilating everything we thought we knew, and restoring everything we have never lost." 313

Jon Orsi-Beckett, the Bible, and the Furnace

I decided that this year I would try and get ahead on my group project by actually doing something for it before it was about to be presented. So I started reading Frye’s chapter on “the Furnace” and it got me all hot and bothered.

The furnace, for all its fire and burning-is a pretty cool place when you get down to it. It deals with the side of humanity that plagues us all (yes all), all the interest people are down there anyway.  

What got me going though was a visit from an old friend- In a previous class I was exposed to Samuel Beckett. I became enthralled, read whatever material he wrote I could get my hands on, and then decided I couldn’t go on any longer, but I must go on. So I went on, this week, and started re-reading Beckett for a completely different class' project. After speaking with Dr. Sexson and his mention of Beckett as a very biblical influenced writer, I wanted to see how this played out.

Instantly I found a quote, and what a perfect quote for this class, from Samuel Beckett
“Christianity is a mythology with which I am perfectly familiar so naturally I use it”

Frye, in “Words with Power” discusses what he refers to as Demonic and Titanic powers. The Demonic dealing with that which is “evil” but the Titanic, an equal yet almost parallel force, “takes us into the lower depths of the imagery of descent and return…and brings us down to the origins of human wisdom and power.”

With Beckett the discern between demonic and titanic may be unidentifiable, yet throughout his most “demonic” or what we would presume to be “evil” characters there is a “[return] to the origins of human wisdom and power”

(Beckett), in his ceaseless effort to deplete or empty the character, reader, soul, of everything, reduces all existence into its most fundamental forms. Fundamental in the sense as it is                (de)composed of fundament (shit), and then it is the fundamental form of humanity showing through. Granted they show like the exposed rib cage of humanity, with the decomposed flesh rotting away, it is from that decomposition, that compost that fertilizes future beauty.

From his radio play “All that Fall” we get biblical support for this theory, a few lines into the play the character Mrs. Rooney cites the title inspiring passage: “The lord holdeth up all that fall and raisthe up all those that be bowed down” derived from Psalm 145, this may give hope, or shed a the faintest light onto the impenetrable gloom* that occupies much of Beckett’s writing

(to note the gloom is very penetrable--its quite funny)  

In further agreement with Frye’s view of “the furnace” when he says in Words With Power, “…there is no reason for making such a contrast between the daimon of Socrates and a Christian guardian angle, or between what Wordsworth felt when he spoke of “huge and mighty forms” in nature and what a Greek would have thought of Dionysus or Artemis.” Page276.

…as I said in further agreement with that ^

Beckett (or his unnamable narrator), in “The Unnamable”  states “…Malone revolves, a stranger for ever to my infirmities, one who is not as I can never not be. I am motionless in vain, he is the god. And the other? I have assigned him eyes that implore me, offerings for me, need of succor. He does not look at me, does not he know of me, wants for nothing. I alone am man and all the rest divine.” (294  The Three Novels)

As odd as this may seem to express or understand: characters in a novel can serve to be our daimons or guardian angles. What I mean by this must be taken with the understanding of Frye’s earlier comment.
If we are to view these things (daimons or demons, what have you) as our guides up or down the spiritual ladder, literary characters can take the place of these demon figures. The bible clearly is an example of this, because the all the characters and happenings are literary. Their role as spiritual guiders are widely recognized and accepted, but do we not often find ourselves moved spriturally from other texts?  Many may dismiss these secular texts as un-sacred because they do not fit in any religious cannon, but if they move us, connect to us, does that not make them sacred? To us at least?

Anyway, what maybe even harder to express or understand is: That Beckett  works through all his misery and distain for the world, have become for me, sort of spiritual texts, because they have moved me and it has moved me positively. This concept of the dark and disdainful as positive figures may have more formidable roots than my own view, Frye later cites Nietzsche as believing, "that the perpetually dying Dionysus was a life affirming figure"
The Demonic characters such as Malone, may be demonic in “nature” but they are, as Frye describes “Titanic” in their effect. Yes, they have led me down to the depths of humanity, but it came to, as Frye describes, a depth of humanity that became a level of” wisdom and power”.

So I’m happy to be in the furnace, its just getting me warmed up.

Jon Orsi- In response to Sarah Knox

I have, for the entire semester, and semesters past, been really impressed with Sarah's blog. Sarah always seems to weave incredible humor and thoughtfulness throughout her blogs. Her blog is consistently one of my 'usual suspects' that I check up on and drawn inspiration from.
One of her more recent blogs about Frye's Words With Power  was particularity insightful and has geared me up to start reading my copy -which I just received.

Now I would recommend everyone to read this blog in full, but one of her central paragraphs does well to convey what took most to heart:


 So... Frye, in an extensively rationalized way, undoubtedly common to his mode of thought, is attempting to outline the Bible as myth and metaphor while simultaneously critiquing its influence on Western literature, and also bringing in another irresistable element of the critic in applying it to the themes and images which drive commonly studied poets, artists, what have you, and why it is that these poets are so "popular". If that is completely off key, I suppose, according to the Bible, I should be punished for "raising a false report." (Exodus 23:1)

this is a really great example of a well realized blog, it drives me to start reading Frye and participate in the conversation. It speaks to the un-read, the well read and the eager to.

so thank you for this, and all the gary larson.

Jon Orsi, the ritual of rememberance

As I am reading the bible –even though my copy is bush league- - I can’t help but be moved by the ritual of the act. Now,  aside from the Kavorka, I’m not a religious person by any means, but undertaking this act that has provided solace, inspiration and hope for so many people gives me a feeling of great warmth. For centuries this texts has been the  guiding force for so many people, and so many inspirational works. And this-for me- has nothing to do with the “Christian” or “religious” implications of the act, rather the ritualistic, specifically the ritual of return.

Early on in the Bible, before genealogies become so distant and convoluted, it is easy to trace back all people to their source. 
We are born of this source, and from death we shall return.  As God says, “from dust you are created and to dust you shall return.”   I suppose I am drawn to this passage specifically because it resonates with my own sense of spirituality, that is to say: a harmonious  interconnectivity  suspended with sublime moments of consciousness and beauty. And this connectivity is between all people and all things. Without going too much further into my own thing, I can sort of see myself and see my own spirituality emerge from this text. The idea of connectivity between all men is clear from Adam and Even on down, the idea “from dust to dust” too.  But most importantly is this revelation, or moment of clarity/ consciousness of the connectivity itself .

And this is sometiems hard to find, but I have found it in several places.  One could be with Jacob requesting his burial in the same land of his father, and his father’s father.  This signifies the desire to return, to your family, and to the earth from which you came.  It also represents the ethereal nature of life, that we shall rise up stir amongst the world and then dissipate, irrigating the stage for the next act of apparitions.  

My mind drifts to Shakespeare for the decadence that this theme deserves.

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits, and

Are melted into air, into thin air:

And like the baseless fabric of this vision,

The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,

The solemn temples, the great globe itself,

Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,

And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,

Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff

As dreams are made on; and our little life

Is rounded with a sleep.

But this ritual of remembrance doesn’t explicitly end here. In fact it never ends and thus is the beauty. But I find it again in two places in the bible. Both of which I haven’t actually read-read yet but I think I know they are there. With A) the prodigal son and B) with on the of the Psalms “The rivers of Babylon” Psalm 137 (to give you an idea of what a gyp my bible is my Psalms goes 130, 131, 136, 137, 139- I don’t know if there is an expounded 13^th floor phenomenon present in the bible but mine is outa-control)

…”by the rivers of Babylon, where we sat down and there we wept, yea, when we remembered Zion…How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

I often feel the same way:  how can I read the bible in a strange land such as this? How far gone am I from biblical teachings and stories there in, that I have any reason or relation to the bible? But I find, just as singers of psalm 137 have found, that by simply singing, or by simply reading I (we) participate in the ritualistic act and from this we are intrinsically tied.  Tied to the origin, tied to god (however you want to view it/him/her) and tied to all things that have and will ever be.

Just looking at the innumerous renditions of this song is testament enough to the ritualistic return to all things biblical and all things universal

This video has go it all, people dancing on waterfalls, the limbo- it's great

Jon Orsi- The Low Fat Bible

I didn't realize until Dr. Sexson mentioned in class, that all this time I thought I was digging in deep, into every written word of the bible, that I was all along reading the low-fat version.
Working at the school library, I had two driving reasons for not going out and buying the text from book store.
1) if you think this school skimps on spending. you should see how they pay their employees.
2) I know that we, and all libraries for that matter should have a copy of the best selling book of all time.
So I got what I thought was the King James edition, but I didn't realize that it was the "king james edition- for students."
All this while, I've been reading passages from the (diet*) Bible and then reading Plotz's take on them afterward so as not to unearth anything ahead of time. And all these things kept coming up in Plotz that up until not I assumed I had read and not remembered, and it always seemed to be the wildest happenings I was unable to recall- sort of like black out drinking applied to the bible: "Wow, I actually read that? I don't remember any of that"
So I missed Onin all together, most of the details of Exodus 34, My Sodom and Gomorrah lasted about a paragraph and was suspiciously pg-13. And on top of that all, I don't feel like any of the "boring monotony" of lists and genealogy was omitted.
At one point after this unveiling that my copy was both diluted and dull, i damned this book and then accidentally ripped it.
 I don't know if either is a sin, but I do know that i'm getting a library fine for defacing material.

Jon Orsi- twelve tribes

Genesis truly is a point of origin. And (in the mythic sense) all generations originate from this point.
Now, complete biblical genealogy -tracing each name- does not really interest me, but it could if I had the time. But the concept of genealogy in the bible, and else where really, is quite mythological. In fact genealogy and mythology are really quite the same term, they only differ with their focused interests.

As with writer P and J, the terms genealogy and mythology can be applied respectively. Author P- centered around lineage, lists, dates and numbers is, in my opinion a genealogical writer. And  author J-  although she drifts atop the sea of lists and lineage, is blown by the winds of myth.

The twelve tribes of Israel are twelves seeds upon the soil of stories. Each one can be overlooked and minimalized as a seed and a seed only. But with the right attention, or even so much as a second glance we see that these seeds germinate, fruit and flower, and from them more seeds are sewn.

the same can be said about any name or list, it just comes down, again to  the investing of time (of which I, and most people have little) and patience (even less). But the stories that sprout from these twelves seeds are memorable and mailable therefore I choose to work with them here, for the purposes of easy understanding.

Each of the twelve is of an itemized list. Some, such as Joesph and Dan are more memorable and recognizable than others (Naphtali for example) but each grow, branching out into stories comprised of various characters, each with a story of their own, children of their own and so forth- ad infinitum

Beyond that, the naming of children in remembrance of these people, the remembrance of their stories.Carries this myth out of the past, and directly into the present, or possibly feeding into the future. Namesakes can and often do shape the course of ones life (see. A Boy Named Sue)

Each character spawn from these twelve tribes, creates their own mythologies, sometimes in the wake of ancestors, sometimes creating an entirely new wave all together. These waves may be small, or massive- the magnitude has little importance. The importance rests on the mere creation and exurtion of influence.
I liken this perpetual motion to musical vibrations- Even the slightest and softest note can resonate and sound a symphony throughout the ages. And, just as the orchestral radiance seems to wane and slumber, the raucus cascade of applause sounds yet another tune. Furhter still, the comprised web of praise is broken down into the two hands that produce it.-These are seemingly tired and and unneeded analogies. But, as for the extent of reach, and extent of exponentiation- there is no exhaustion. We are intrinsically tied to one another and to our past, through an unyielding tapestry of connectivity. Each fiber of this fabric strings with it the songs and stories of all that has past, and -like the works of Minerva- all that will be.

I'm sort of losing control over what i'm trying to say, because at every turn there are infinite paths of exploration.

Our myths may be forgotten or unrecognized, but they are never unlived. We are in constant motion, of remotion. Behind even the seemingly pure and authentic actions, there are waves of archaic influence crashing and swelling.

 Like the image above, The whole of the Bible, the whole of our 'reality' is a vast mosaic of myth, creating a clear yet obscured and unrecognized image of self.

Timshel, Daedulus and Dr. Faustus

The fall…
The best place to start is—I suppose—the beginning.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. From here—I could spend days alluding and referencing this passage, even each of these words to countless, and tireless avenues and points of interest. And this( this never ending cross reference) is the very importance and significance of this Book.
I forget who exactly, but someone on Tuesdays class said that what is difficult about reading the Bible in its entirety is that amongst, between, and within each of the “exciting” parts, are words. Dull, boring, lifeless words. Even though I would have to agree that I get bored and that I cannot see the depth of each name, each word. I cannot dismiss the depth all together. It is, as Dr. Sexson said-our problem. If we can’t find the joy in genealogy, that does not negate or deplete the joy that genealogy possess. But, I think we all know that. I’m just getting to rambling.
On the subject of words in the Bible and there broad base and chasm of depth: This summer I kicked back and read a slew of books that were a pleasure and breeze to read. Among them: East of Eden. Clearly steeped in biblical allegory, but specifically engrossed in one word of the bible: “Timshel” or “Thou Mayst”. A philosophical conversation ensues about the choice of words, and the heavy weight of each-and specifically this word “Timshel” the overall point being: that Cane is given the choice to overcome sin. He is not ordered to do so, he is not fated to do so he is instead, free to do so.
I would advise anyone interested to read the passage as it was written so as to get a better and more beautiful rendition of my explanation. And if they check out this link: http://timshel.org/timshel.php it will open up to that passage specifically.
As I am writing this it seems fitting, while reading and attempting to understand the Bible, that we are somewhat Timshelled ourselves. We are given the option to read the whole book, to overcome the bible as it were, to explore any avenue.
Getting back to my original purpose for writing this blog however, I wanted to get into it at or at least near the beginning. Though I could spend days talking about the first few words and everything that can come off of that (as I find myself already doing). I want to talk about the tree of knowledge and some other stuff.
The “tree of knowledge” is a theme that really does come up damn near everywhere. But I am specifically thinking of Dr. Faustus and Daedalus.
It is the pursuit of the unknown of pure knowledge that leads us to eminent doom. Or, better put and invoking a funny image: curiosity killed the cat.
I am realizing now that this idea is a long one so I will just try and stick with Daedalus. For he “turned his mind to arts unknown and nature unrevealed.” (for the full Ovidian passage see here: http://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/anthony/Classics/OvidIcarus.htm
From this pursuit of unknown truths, of knowledge held away from man, Icarus literally fell, he came too close to the godly world and it became his demise.
Proud of his success,
the foolish Icarus forsook his guide,
350 and, bold in vanity, began to soar,
rising upon his wings to touch the skies;
but as he neared the scorching sun, its heat
softened the fragrant wax that held his plumes;
and heat increasing melted the soft wax--
355 he waved his naked arms instead of wings,
with no more feathers to sustain his flight.
And as he called upon his father's name
his voice was smothered in the dark blue sea,
now called Icarian from the dead boy's name.