Artistic! Direction? A reflection.
I'm hearing images, I'm seeing songs
No poet has ever painted
Voices call out to me, straight to my heart
So strange yet we're so well acquainted
….my mind is like an open window
Where the high and healing winds blow
ABBA
"I Let The Music Speak"
Two weeks ago I stood amazed, in a packed and smoky night club in Indonesia where the band on the stand was belting out Reggae tunes in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian Language). My amazement was at the power of a country (Jamaica) with a population of 2.5 million people, creating music that so powerfully resonates half a world away in a country with a population of 250 million.
As the singer reached down into his guts and sang his soul-full reggae, his voice seemed to be scraping the bottom of his vocal chords and clawing its way back out as if in search of a land far-far away. And the sounds being liberated from his throat in the process, though clearly not Jamaican, were not incongruent with Jamaica. It was humbling to think that Jamaica might not have given him that voice, but most certainly the construct of the bass patterning and rhythmic chops of the guitar on which it danced. Although the music harks back to an earlier school of the genre, there was no denying its rock steady reggaeness –Jamaicanness – Caribbeanness.
A call to move
Much is expected from him who much is given and I’m sure that this is as true for countries and nation states as it is for individuals. Culturally and artistically, the Caribbean is a kaleidoscope, where complex social acculturation, shifting mirrors of identity and rotating class and colour patterns foster dynamic creative forms. One’s frame of mind determines how one sees this. For some, we are the hybrid flower. One of my friends says that we are a multicultural barbecue. Still another friend says -with sweet sacrilege- we are the mongrels. This is part one of a discussion of the value of this hybrid, multicultural creature, expressing as Caribbean Artistic Director on the world stage.
I am using a broad interpretation of Artistic Director/Direction here, to include: (1)The individual director, creating the specified performance art of his choice; (2) Collective vision for Caribbean performing arts; (3) The role of the Caribbean in shaping performing arts on the world stage.
Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and others contributed greatly to the Renaissance movement on behalf of what is now Italy. Jamaica and the Caribbean are possibly at the forefront of such a great arts and culture movement. But do we know it? Perhaps we are content with having exported Garveyism and Rastafarianism, (I crave your indulgence, here in using the latter term – as one of my students once told me that “Rasta don’t deal with ism”). Our contentment might also come from the recognition of Reggae-ism and what is perhaps even more recognizable worldwide, Bob-Marley-ism. And of course there is steel-pan-ism and Trini-carnival-ism among others.
This may be a presumption on my part to identify the movement of Caribbean performing arts with a movement such as the Renaissance. But what does it mean that a new dance springs up from the dancehall floor every two weeks? What is this boundless creativity and where does it hail from? And more importantly, where is it going and what are we doing with it? Still, in order for there to be greater justification for this word ‘movement’ other more pertinent questions need to be asked of ourselves as artists who are on the move.
One very important question is, ‘Has the performing arts culture of the Caribbean truly metamorphosed into something substantial, or is it drowning in it’s own vital fluids?’ There is that potential to drown one’s own creativity if one spends too much time righting wrongs and too little time creating new rights. At the risk of being socio-culturally ex-communicated, I ask us to consider if we spend too much time still seeking to break the back of classical European lines to re-insert circles or , to create shapes that are different but still pedigreed, instead of redefining the whole thing altogether? This is not to undercut the value of what has been done to balance out, but instead to point in the direction of benefiting from all that’s been garnered. (For those ready to run for the priest, please note it is just a question to stimulate thought) My thought on this is: acknowledge where it went wrong, address it and immediately move to recreation, accepting all that was, as part of the new creature that is to be.
Creative Molting
The caterpillar’s path to being a butterfly is very instructive in this. In order to go through complete metamorphosis, the butterfly is aware that it’s old skin can’t grow with it, and recreates new skin underneath the old one before shedding it. The process of exposing this newer, larger skin underneath is called molting. Within context, the ‘old skin’ was more about ‘knowing your history.’ The ‘new skin’ is about re-creating it now in a larger, more refined way. The design for this ‘new skin’ will already be there but the new one will be bigger and stronger. This process occurs numerous times (about five or six) until, wings are formed out of all the stuff already in the body of the butterfly.
So, the colourful new creature is born out of what already is. But you already know this. The Steel Pan, Reggae and Yanvalou are only a few highlights of that. My point is that I believe a more unified shift as a region is being called for – one that defines and/or refines what that creature is and the direction in which it takes itself and the world.
Certainly if there is any region of the world that can do it, the Caribbean is culturally equipped. Forget the politics of the region. In the Renaissance period there were numerous wars and religious upheavals that threatened, but did not stop the movement. It is no longer sufficient to sit back in our seats and give ourselves a nice pat on the back as we talk glowingly about our Garth Fagans, Peter Minshalls and Professor Nettlefords – our Louise Bennetts, Derek Walcotts and Henk Tjons. We need to get past whatever stands in the way and as a familiar Nike slogan says ‘just do it’ even if what is standing in the way is ourselves. And while we are at it, we must not confuse the swaying motion of a ship anchored to shore, with the forward movement of a ship pressing into the deep unknown.
So the movement I am calling for, is a collective responsibility, beginning with the process of re-defining, re-creating and re-presenting performing arts culture to ourselves and the world. First, we ‘Archive the processes of artistic directors in the Caribbean. Secondly, we re-present it to ourselves for polishing and thirdly, we export it. Already our performing art forms are a great unifier. There is integration in the Caribbean arts that goes beyond mere symbiosis of the art forms themselves. There is something that the Caribbean arts culture can teach about the connection between art and spirituality – and spirituality and community – and community and science, and science with ‘science again’ and how all of this ties in with the people and how the people are the art itself.
There is much to be said here and for those who can say something: Speak up! Say it with your heart and your art and let the movement move. The aesthetic possibilities of this integration are limitless.
Let us create and re-create dance films that are not documentaries but instead telling of stories through dance on film; musical theatre of the dancehall; Community Carnival shared household to household by internet or DVD; improvised contemporary dance experiences shared by the general public (on way to or from work); speaking dancers and dancing orators. All this and more, we should do and so move. Let us conquer the world by mastering our selves.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Reggae Month Reggaelution - the reggae man story
The revolution began as heavy bass-filled music rising throughout shanty towns in Kingston Jamaica.- Music that flew across the airwaves into the night clubs and homes in England, Europe North America. The revolution stood firm, chanting down 'Babylon systems' on the continent of Africa and now it parades on world stages rising to prominence in places like Asia. The Reggaelution is upon us.
But where is it going now?
The story of Reggae's rise is as improbable as the likelihood of an unknown Jewish sect, rising to define the spirituality of the western world. But Christianity is here isn't it.
Reggae is here.
He would have started a song, a beautiful song. And that one song would echo in many places all over the world, producing different sounds. In some places the people would hear the one song and know that the systems of injustice that they are exposed to must be 'toppled and totally destroyed.'
Some would hear the echoes of that song and feel the love pouring through their veins like a river and beating in their bodies with a steely pulse. When the echo crosses the oceans and reaches other lands, it becomes less of a moment of sound and more a movement of hearts and souls- where even those who don't sway with the bass rhythms of the man called Reggae, but instead rock arhythmically to the lyrics- can still feel connected. Then the man might write many more songs saying we are really all one race- the human race; One people - and One Love.
But where is it going now?
The story of Reggae's rise is as improbable as the likelihood of an unknown Jewish sect, rising to define the spirituality of the western world. But Christianity is here isn't it.
Reggae is here.
Reggae has already decided that it is a powerful sociocultural tool and that it will go around the world and 'civilize' the masses. Reggae's missionary position is not a lateral one awaiting arrival of another, but a vertical and 'upright' position.
If Reggae was a man, he would be a Marcus Garvey, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King. He would have grown up poor in the slums of Kingston and started a song. His father would have been called Mr. Ska, and his mother, with her 'rock-steady' virtues would have been an off-spring of the family tree of the Mento clan. When growing up, this man with the name of Reggae would have been educated at the school of Rastafari, where he would learn his philosophical ideals from the teachings of powerful Pan-Africanists. He would have learned a hatred of all oppression (and learned to call it down-pression, cause there's nothing up about it). This man called Reggae though, would have moved through the world and seen people of different races and persuasions and found common unity with them. And in this communion, he would come to a conclusion that in this life, we are really all the same under the skin.
He would have started a song, a beautiful song. And that one song would echo in many places all over the world, producing different sounds. In some places the people would hear the one song and know that the systems of injustice that they are exposed to must be 'toppled and totally destroyed.'
Some would hear the echoes of that song and feel the love pouring through their veins like a river and beating in their bodies with a steely pulse. When the echo crosses the oceans and reaches other lands, it becomes less of a moment of sound and more a movement of hearts and souls- where even those who don't sway with the bass rhythms of the man called Reggae, but instead rock arhythmically to the lyrics- can still feel connected. Then the man might write many more songs saying we are really all one race- the human race; One people - and One Love.
Monday, January 28, 2008
politics of change, transformation and manifestation
change = remove the tire and replace it with another one
transformation = caterpillar becoming a butterfly
manifestation = converting a drop of golden liquid from the centre of the sun's core into the very thing you desire here on earth.
change is good; transformation is great; manifestation is our power to create the world we want to live in. Some of us give away that power to liars who say that the world is coming to an end. And they say it in large numbers and in large groups so we tend to believe so many people can't be wrong? Right?
And they say it with conviction and we see the sincerity in their eyes and think, they must know what they are talking about cause they are willing to die for this death talk. And they convince us to so fear the coming end of the world with them, that we join in the game of fear and forget the life of love. And they win.
Here's how WE win for life and for love and for beauty, prosperity and health. Make your next thought (no matter what your circumstances) a thought of love and harmony. Then follow it up with another similar thought. Do this for five consecutive thoughts, then for five consecutive years. Make that five consecutive decades and let's see if ONE person thinking love and harmony for one billion people can make a difference. So if there are only two of us doing it (cause I will be one) - we're close to covering the whole world.
Michael Holgate
transformation = caterpillar becoming a butterfly
manifestation = converting a drop of golden liquid from the centre of the sun's core into the very thing you desire here on earth.
change is good; transformation is great; manifestation is our power to create the world we want to live in. Some of us give away that power to liars who say that the world is coming to an end. And they say it in large numbers and in large groups so we tend to believe so many people can't be wrong? Right?
And they say it with conviction and we see the sincerity in their eyes and think, they must know what they are talking about cause they are willing to die for this death talk. And they convince us to so fear the coming end of the world with them, that we join in the game of fear and forget the life of love. And they win.
Here's how WE win for life and for love and for beauty, prosperity and health. Make your next thought (no matter what your circumstances) a thought of love and harmony. Then follow it up with another similar thought. Do this for five consecutive thoughts, then for five consecutive years. Make that five consecutive decades and let's see if ONE person thinking love and harmony for one billion people can make a difference. So if there are only two of us doing it (cause I will be one) - we're close to covering the whole world.
Michael Holgate
To Endorse Barak Obama for President
Kennedy, Kerry, Oprah and so many others have done it. Do I join in?
Yes I do. Why not? Perhaps the more important question is who cares? Who cares about my endorsement? I am not a citizen of the United States of America. I am a Jamaican citizen. I have nothing riding on this endorsement. I get nothing out of it. And maybe, neither does Obama. Some might argue that it's out of a desire to see a Black Man in the White house. (I wonder how I haven't seen anyone put it just that way so far A BLACK MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE- perhaps others are more tactful than I claim to be.) - But truthfully, before Barak was in the race, I supported Hillary Clinton. I thought it a forgone conclusion. And then I met Barak (albeit on my TV screen with CNN).
There is nothing and no one who could have swayed me from Bill and Hillary Clinton, whether black, blue, green or purple - unless some great and powerful someone has come along. And he has. So, people are more impressed with Oprah's endorsement and the Kennedy endorsements. I'm most impressed with mine. It comes from a deep sense of conviction in the spirit of transformation and hope embodied by this man. So I say, Barak Obama for President.
Interestingly, I am now about five minutes walk away from that elementary school in Menteng, Indonesia where he went as a boy. I know there has been some controversy about this. I don't know why. people are not exclusively defined by where they went to school. With that said, I wonder where President Bush went to school. Anyway, I am pleased to know that the Presidency of Barak Obama will be one of multicultural awareness; faith; hope and change.
Michael Holgate
Yes I do. Why not? Perhaps the more important question is who cares? Who cares about my endorsement? I am not a citizen of the United States of America. I am a Jamaican citizen. I have nothing riding on this endorsement. I get nothing out of it. And maybe, neither does Obama. Some might argue that it's out of a desire to see a Black Man in the White house. (I wonder how I haven't seen anyone put it just that way so far A BLACK MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE- perhaps others are more tactful than I claim to be.) - But truthfully, before Barak was in the race, I supported Hillary Clinton. I thought it a forgone conclusion. And then I met Barak (albeit on my TV screen with CNN).
There is nothing and no one who could have swayed me from Bill and Hillary Clinton, whether black, blue, green or purple - unless some great and powerful someone has come along. And he has. So, people are more impressed with Oprah's endorsement and the Kennedy endorsements. I'm most impressed with mine. It comes from a deep sense of conviction in the spirit of transformation and hope embodied by this man. So I say, Barak Obama for President.
Interestingly, I am now about five minutes walk away from that elementary school in Menteng, Indonesia where he went as a boy. I know there has been some controversy about this. I don't know why. people are not exclusively defined by where they went to school. With that said, I wonder where President Bush went to school. Anyway, I am pleased to know that the Presidency of Barak Obama will be one of multicultural awareness; faith; hope and change.
Michael Holgate
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Grow your Mind - Grow your brain
Yes, there are many ways to grow your mind and your brain.
Infinite ways in fact. As infinite as the mind itself.
Simple things...
- Learn a new language (just start. Let's face it, I'm sure you have fifteen minutes a day to spare on learning ten words. Do you know what ten new words in a foreign language adds up to in a year? Do you know what it means to your brain?
- Keep learning new languages
- learn a new skill (Play an instrument- even just go to work from a different route)
- Eat well. Yeah, real food. Your brain deserves it. If it's starved, you can't think well. A lot of us eat rubbish all day, then make up our faces at street people eating from garbage bins. At least they are honest.
-Eat well. Yeah, this time it's about what you put in your brain from books and conversations. Don't spend your time talking with negative people. It drags you down. And I'm sure you've heard the phrase narrow-minded - well, that comes from constantly narrowing your view of the world to fit into your limited concept of yourself. So, by all means expand your acceptance and awareness of yourself and the world will look so much more like a bright and beautiful place.
Michael Holgate
enuff for today... oops, I almost forgot the quote for the moment.
Infinite ways in fact. As infinite as the mind itself.
Simple things...
- Learn a new language (just start. Let's face it, I'm sure you have fifteen minutes a day to spare on learning ten words. Do you know what ten new words in a foreign language adds up to in a year? Do you know what it means to your brain?
- Keep learning new languages
- learn a new skill (Play an instrument- even just go to work from a different route)
- Eat well. Yeah, real food. Your brain deserves it. If it's starved, you can't think well. A lot of us eat rubbish all day, then make up our faces at street people eating from garbage bins. At least they are honest.
-Eat well. Yeah, this time it's about what you put in your brain from books and conversations. Don't spend your time talking with negative people. It drags you down. And I'm sure you've heard the phrase narrow-minded - well, that comes from constantly narrowing your view of the world to fit into your limited concept of yourself. So, by all means expand your acceptance and awareness of yourself and the world will look so much more like a bright and beautiful place.
Michael Holgate
enuff for today... oops, I almost forgot the quote for the moment.
When I want to read a novel,
I write one.
Benjamin Disreali
in W. Monnypenny and G Buckle
Life of Benjamin Disreali (vol. 6)
What words do
Tell someone to read today.
Denying yourself the experience of reading is like denying yourself the possibility of a truly joyous and powerful life. Maybe there ARE indeed leaders who have not been readers... but I don't know of any such who have greatly inspired me. Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Marcus Garvey, - these are leaders who set the world on fire through the power of their words.
They never pretended that their words were created somewhere inside their bodies and pushed out into the world on demand. No - they were readers. They allowed themselves to be receptacles for ideas in the form of many books.
They allowed those ideas to so move and change and empower and embolden them that their 'receptacles' overflowed. The combination of ideas of so many brilliant men and women who have gone before them, with their own deep introspection, caused a chemical reaction that transformed them into living embodiments of 'the word' and they became 'lights' unto the world.
I believe in our own way, we are all lights unto the world. We all just need to plug in now. I believe that some ways to do this are: prayer, meditation and of course reading.
Michael Holgate
Today's quote:
Denying yourself the experience of reading is like denying yourself the possibility of a truly joyous and powerful life. Maybe there ARE indeed leaders who have not been readers... but I don't know of any such who have greatly inspired me. Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Marcus Garvey, - these are leaders who set the world on fire through the power of their words.
They never pretended that their words were created somewhere inside their bodies and pushed out into the world on demand. No - they were readers. They allowed themselves to be receptacles for ideas in the form of many books.
They allowed those ideas to so move and change and empower and embolden them that their 'receptacles' overflowed. The combination of ideas of so many brilliant men and women who have gone before them, with their own deep introspection, caused a chemical reaction that transformed them into living embodiments of 'the word' and they became 'lights' unto the world.
I believe in our own way, we are all lights unto the world. We all just need to plug in now. I believe that some ways to do this are: prayer, meditation and of course reading.
Michael Holgate
Today's quote:
"We were not created to be eaten by anxiety,
but to walk erect, free,
unafraid in a world where there is work to do,
truth to seek, love to give and win."
Joseph Ford NewtonAuthor
Joseph Ford NewtonAuthor
Monday, January 21, 2008
favourite books
A friend of mine (harry surya minata) just asked me "What's the best book you ever read in your life?" - and I think that's the first time anyone has ever asked me that question. A very interesting question. And one that excited me. Why? cause it forced me to go over all those wonderful books that have so beautifully transported me somewhere else. I couldn't find one that was the best- well not yet-, but I decided to look at a few. If you haven't read them, you should...
- Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind.
I first got introduced to this book by my brother Kirk. I would normally not read any book with a sword wielding man on a dragon on the cover. I thought it would be trashy - boy was I wrong. I have hungrily searched down every other book in the (sword of truth series) because of how good this book was. I'm now going to buy the last one - number 13. I'm not obsessed, not really... not quite... ok dammit, leave me alone - a brilliant writer is this Terry Goodkind who can weave a tale that permeates your mind and just sits there like a mist at the top of a cold mountain - I could go on, but there are other books...
The Chrysallids by John Wyndham
Beautiful science fiction literature - about a young boy who discovers how different he is because of psychic abilities. The book is a great commentary on intolerance and bigotry --- a rose by any other name is still a rose... Even when the bigotry is about special abilities in a distant future land somewhere else, intolerance is still intolerance. (for those of you who got it - sorry for spelling it out like this)
Interview with a Vampire - Anne Rice
A vampire tells his story to a young reporter about how he became a vampire. I first saw this book when I was a student at Wolmer's Boys School. I went into the library and was just browsing around (now what kind of young man goes browsing around in a library - ok, kinda nerdy, I know). So anyways, I open this book and was captivated, but then the bell rang. I kept the book in my mind and bought it years later.
First Man in Rome - Colleen McCullough
Brilliant historical novel about the Roman empire
By the way, Read anything she writes...
I love another of her books, a moving, sentimental story of a yound mentally challenged man --- the book is called Tim.- Again I say: Read anything she writes.
Will just do a general listing of other favourites now:
Harry potter series - JK Rowling... (good reading fun)
It - Stephen King (this man Stephen King knows how to get into your mind and pull out your own demons to haunt you- He is the grand master of horror. How horrible that must feel for him. All those millions of dollars from telling horrible tales. May my stories be as horrible LOL)
The Agony and the Ecstacy by Irving Stone
Fictionalized story of the life of Michelangelo (Un-put-down-able)
Black Sun Rising - CS Freidman
Time has caught up with me. I just noticed how many of those books are sci-fi, fantasy or horror.
- Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind.
I first got introduced to this book by my brother Kirk. I would normally not read any book with a sword wielding man on a dragon on the cover. I thought it would be trashy - boy was I wrong. I have hungrily searched down every other book in the (sword of truth series) because of how good this book was. I'm now going to buy the last one - number 13. I'm not obsessed, not really... not quite... ok dammit, leave me alone - a brilliant writer is this Terry Goodkind who can weave a tale that permeates your mind and just sits there like a mist at the top of a cold mountain - I could go on, but there are other books...
The Chrysallids by John Wyndham
Beautiful science fiction literature - about a young boy who discovers how different he is because of psychic abilities. The book is a great commentary on intolerance and bigotry --- a rose by any other name is still a rose... Even when the bigotry is about special abilities in a distant future land somewhere else, intolerance is still intolerance. (for those of you who got it - sorry for spelling it out like this)
Interview with a Vampire - Anne Rice
A vampire tells his story to a young reporter about how he became a vampire. I first saw this book when I was a student at Wolmer's Boys School. I went into the library and was just browsing around (now what kind of young man goes browsing around in a library - ok, kinda nerdy, I know). So anyways, I open this book and was captivated, but then the bell rang. I kept the book in my mind and bought it years later.
First Man in Rome - Colleen McCullough
Brilliant historical novel about the Roman empire
By the way, Read anything she writes...
I love another of her books, a moving, sentimental story of a yound mentally challenged man --- the book is called Tim.- Again I say: Read anything she writes.
Will just do a general listing of other favourites now:
Harry potter series - JK Rowling... (good reading fun)
It - Stephen King (this man Stephen King knows how to get into your mind and pull out your own demons to haunt you- He is the grand master of horror. How horrible that must feel for him. All those millions of dollars from telling horrible tales. May my stories be as horrible LOL)
The Agony and the Ecstacy by Irving Stone
Fictionalized story of the life of Michelangelo (Un-put-down-able)
Black Sun Rising - CS Freidman
Time has caught up with me. I just noticed how many of those books are sci-fi, fantasy or horror.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Writers Welcome
So you wanna be a writer huh?
welcome to the club.
I mean the club of writers not wanna be writers.
James Allen said:
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
so if you think you are then keep chugging along like that train 'I think I can' and that's exactly what you will be - a writer... but hey, don't just think it. Put pen to paper or finger to typewriter/keyboard nuh! - Write something, no matter what. I tell my writer friends all the time... write a little each day if you have to, it adds up. But thers' no kind of writer who doesn't write. There's a cure for that kind of thinking... called a straight jacket. If you are a writer WRITE. Have I said that enough?
Well, with that said, let me add a few words from a great writer Mark Twain:
welcome to the club.
I mean the club of writers not wanna be writers.
James Allen said:
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
so if you think you are then keep chugging along like that train 'I think I can' and that's exactly what you will be - a writer... but hey, don't just think it. Put pen to paper or finger to typewriter/keyboard nuh! - Write something, no matter what. I tell my writer friends all the time... write a little each day if you have to, it adds up. But thers' no kind of writer who doesn't write. There's a cure for that kind of thinking... called a straight jacket. If you are a writer WRITE. Have I said that enough?
Well, with that said, let me add a few words from a great writer Mark Twain:
"Write without pay until
somebody offers you pay.
If nobody offers within three
years the candidate may look
upon the circumstance with
the most implicit confidence
as the sign that sawing wood is
what he was intended for.
Mark Twain.
Ok, maybe I don't really believe that, but is a sweet quote no? Well-written.
READING values
How Do We Get People to Read More?
Of course you know I'm not talking about the sign that says 'enter' or 'Kentucky Fried Chicken'though that's all the reading some people do. Nowadays those signs that are no longer even reading, but almost word pictures.
I'm talking about taking up a book and reading it to let worlds come alive in your mind. To let an entire universe of ideas take shape.
My adopted brother DC asked me the other day to tell him what I see as the value one gets from reading. I hadn't really thought about it before, so maybe I was just a little bit stumped. Hope it didn't show --- but now I'm thinking about it more and more. It's important for me as an author to know why people read. And especially with a novel coming out that will target youths 12 - 15 (though not exclusively) - it's important to be able to say why they (young people) should read. So let's see.
Reading:
- You are in touch with minds that have been exploring great concepts and ideas and you have those thoughts within your eyeline. Let's face it, nobody has only brilliant thoughts all the time. Writers go through the same stuff and issues and grapple with the same idea and problems as anything else. However, when they sit down to write, they are skillfully crafting those ideas for the reader. Is'nt it great to be so considered? I think so.
- Reading is fun - Can be more so than TV. It just depends on how good your mind has become at converting words into moving pictures on the screen of your imagination. And it gets better with practice. Ask any reader of an exciting book that has been converted to film like Harry Potter or The Bourne Supremacy and you will find that most of them say the book is better. Why is that? Because YOUR imagination is better. It's better than the imagination of any director out there can take something and make it come alive. Still, film is really just a different genre of entertainment, and shouldn't really be compared. I just want to make a point. But then, I'm sure I'm preaching to the saved. After all, you are READING this blog aren't you?
But since you are here, drop me a line or comment about how you think we can get more people reading. More reading-less wars- more love. LOL. It's not a fool proof theory I'm sure. I'm sure Hitler was a reader, hell he was a writer.
But let's not get distracted here. Just do something for humanity today. Tell a youth man fi go read a book. That's Jamaican for: go tell a child to read.
Michael Holgate
Of course you know I'm not talking about the sign that says 'enter' or 'Kentucky Fried Chicken'though that's all the reading some people do. Nowadays those signs that are no longer even reading, but almost word pictures.
I'm talking about taking up a book and reading it to let worlds come alive in your mind. To let an entire universe of ideas take shape.
My adopted brother DC asked me the other day to tell him what I see as the value one gets from reading. I hadn't really thought about it before, so maybe I was just a little bit stumped. Hope it didn't show --- but now I'm thinking about it more and more. It's important for me as an author to know why people read. And especially with a novel coming out that will target youths 12 - 15 (though not exclusively) - it's important to be able to say why they (young people) should read. So let's see.
Reading:
- You are in touch with minds that have been exploring great concepts and ideas and you have those thoughts within your eyeline. Let's face it, nobody has only brilliant thoughts all the time. Writers go through the same stuff and issues and grapple with the same idea and problems as anything else. However, when they sit down to write, they are skillfully crafting those ideas for the reader. Is'nt it great to be so considered? I think so.
- Reading is fun - Can be more so than TV. It just depends on how good your mind has become at converting words into moving pictures on the screen of your imagination. And it gets better with practice. Ask any reader of an exciting book that has been converted to film like Harry Potter or The Bourne Supremacy and you will find that most of them say the book is better. Why is that? Because YOUR imagination is better. It's better than the imagination of any director out there can take something and make it come alive. Still, film is really just a different genre of entertainment, and shouldn't really be compared. I just want to make a point. But then, I'm sure I'm preaching to the saved. After all, you are READING this blog aren't you?
But since you are here, drop me a line or comment about how you think we can get more people reading. More reading-less wars- more love. LOL. It's not a fool proof theory I'm sure. I'm sure Hitler was a reader, hell he was a writer.
But let's not get distracted here. Just do something for humanity today. Tell a youth man fi go read a book. That's Jamaican for: go tell a child to read.
Michael Holgate
Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Site to grow your light
Hello All -
coming soon is the 'site to grow your light' @ www.michaelholgate.com
I intend for my website to do just that - It will be full of interesting Ideas and concepts, and of course will host my creative and cultural projects such as the upcoming novel to be published in 2008 by MacMillan Caribbean"Night of the INDIGO" -
'chuss mi' (trust me) - you'll enjoy it... If you are a fan of sci-fi/fantasy or speculative fiction - and even if you aren't --- I enjoyed writing it and I know you'll enjoy reading.
I am also writing another novel entitled "Shadow in the Glass." - Like 'Night of the Indigo' - I basically started writing it in Jakarta, Indonesia. I get lots of INSPIRATION from this country. The people are beautiful, the country is beautiful, the language is beautiful (doing my best to learn it now)---
So how does a site grow your light?
It's all about the connection - that joyous connection we make with our own higher selves; with God; with other people (extensions of our selves); with the Earth; with the universe. We make this connection in infinite ways. Some of my favourite ways are: ideas; books; relationships; friendships; love; music; songs; theatre; films; dance; giving; sharing; creativity; counselling; --- there are so many ways for us to connect and so grow our light. That's the purpose and mission of this site. --- coming soon @ www.michaelholgate.com in 2000&Love.
Remember, it's never 2L8 4luv ---
coming soon is the 'site to grow your light' @ www.michaelholgate.com
I intend for my website to do just that - It will be full of interesting Ideas and concepts, and of course will host my creative and cultural projects such as the upcoming novel to be published in 2008 by MacMillan Caribbean"Night of the INDIGO" -
'chuss mi' (trust me) - you'll enjoy it... If you are a fan of sci-fi/fantasy or speculative fiction - and even if you aren't --- I enjoyed writing it and I know you'll enjoy reading.
I am also writing another novel entitled "Shadow in the Glass." - Like 'Night of the Indigo' - I basically started writing it in Jakarta, Indonesia. I get lots of INSPIRATION from this country. The people are beautiful, the country is beautiful, the language is beautiful (doing my best to learn it now)---
So how does a site grow your light?
It's all about the connection - that joyous connection we make with our own higher selves; with God; with other people (extensions of our selves); with the Earth; with the universe. We make this connection in infinite ways. Some of my favourite ways are: ideas; books; relationships; friendships; love; music; songs; theatre; films; dance; giving; sharing; creativity; counselling; --- there are so many ways for us to connect and so grow our light. That's the purpose and mission of this site. --- coming soon @ www.michaelholgate.com in 2000&Love.
Remember, it's never 2L8 4luv ---
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
My Novel - Night of the Indigo
Marassa, a 15 year old Jamaican boy is catapulted into a wondrous world of Natural Mysticism. His twin brother Wico is dying and no doctor on earth can save him. Guided by Kundo, the mystic warrior, Marassa transcends time and matter into an unknown dimension, a planet called Orunda. If he accepts his responsibility as a Marshal or "Warrior of Light" he can rescue his brother from the clutches of death. But first he must make a spine-tingling journey, confront the challenges of mind and spirit and meet the beautiful and exotic princess Ayoka. As his mystic gifts awaken, Marassa must learn to master the very power that threatens to destroy him and all he holds dear. And before the night of the indigo moon he must prove that he is worthy of the name Marshal.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Open Papers 2 - BBs Reggae Club Jakarta
Two weeks ago I stood amazed, in a packed and smoky night club in Indonesia where the band on the stand was belting out Reggae tunes in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian Language). My amazement was at the power of a country (Jamaica) with a population of 2.5 million people, creating music that so powerfully resonates half a world away in a country with a population of 250 million.
As the singer reached down into his guts and sang his soul-full reggae, his voice seemed to be scraping the bottom of his vocal chords and clawing its way back out as if in search of a land far-far away. And the sounds being liberated from his throat in the process, though clearly not Jamaican, were not incongruent with Jamaica. It was humbling to think that Jamaica might not have given him that voice, but most certainly the construct of the bass patterning and rhythmic chops of the guitar on which it danced. Although the music harks back to an earlier school of the genre, there was no denying its rock steady reggaeness –Jamaicanness – Caribbeanness.
These are opening paragraphs for an article I wrote for the NDTC quarterly - 2008
As the singer reached down into his guts and sang his soul-full reggae, his voice seemed to be scraping the bottom of his vocal chords and clawing its way back out as if in search of a land far-far away. And the sounds being liberated from his throat in the process, though clearly not Jamaican, were not incongruent with Jamaica. It was humbling to think that Jamaica might not have given him that voice, but most certainly the construct of the bass patterning and rhythmic chops of the guitar on which it danced. Although the music harks back to an earlier school of the genre, there was no denying its rock steady reggaeness –Jamaicanness – Caribbeanness.
These are opening paragraphs for an article I wrote for the NDTC quarterly - 2008
Open Papers 1
ART SUMMIT
Since I have been here in Indonesia, there is a big performing arts festival taking place. Actually there are many taking place. But what else can one expect of a country with over 250 million people. Yup Indonesia - 250 million. A country we hardly even hear about in the West. But I digress. I was talking about the arts summit. I went to the Festival opening, invited by a beautiful French woman from the French culture office, named Elise. She’s been inviting me many places and meeting her has been most fortuitous, but more on that another time. So I have only seen two shows so far. The first one is Antigone – greek tragedy translated into Arabic. Great lighting, interesting blocking with the three persons on stage – but well within the first segment, my inability to understand proved too much and I was gone.
The second show I saw was sooooo much more interesting. It was an Indian dance troupe of five men. One of them was well over fifty, maybe even sixty. The curtains opened and he was in a headstand that lasted for about five minutes. Phenomenal. It was only after that time I realized this man was so… mature. The dancers moved about at an infinitesimally slow pace at the start to powerfully moving music. It was somehow poetic that the music was so moving and the dancers seemed not to be. A miracle of modern dance I would say. No attempt to generate any visual excitement but to create a more visceral experience. What can I say? In this man’s face was a world of expression which the four young athletic men around him couldn’t rival, even as the dance became more energetic and they twirled swords like extensions of their arms. He would leave the stage and they would dance. He would then return in the midst of their sword clashing and javelin thrusting with his serene poses movements. He moved like a cross between a flamenco dancer and a Buddhist monk. That’s the best way I could describe it. At one point he goes straight into a headstand in the midst of the performance. Another interesting moment came when his face danced, his eyebrows twitching up and down as it formed the different faces of a clown. Brilliant.
Since I have been here in Indonesia, there is a big performing arts festival taking place. Actually there are many taking place. But what else can one expect of a country with over 250 million people. Yup Indonesia - 250 million. A country we hardly even hear about in the West. But I digress. I was talking about the arts summit. I went to the Festival opening, invited by a beautiful French woman from the French culture office, named Elise. She’s been inviting me many places and meeting her has been most fortuitous, but more on that another time. So I have only seen two shows so far. The first one is Antigone – greek tragedy translated into Arabic. Great lighting, interesting blocking with the three persons on stage – but well within the first segment, my inability to understand proved too much and I was gone.
The second show I saw was sooooo much more interesting. It was an Indian dance troupe of five men. One of them was well over fifty, maybe even sixty. The curtains opened and he was in a headstand that lasted for about five minutes. Phenomenal. It was only after that time I realized this man was so… mature. The dancers moved about at an infinitesimally slow pace at the start to powerfully moving music. It was somehow poetic that the music was so moving and the dancers seemed not to be. A miracle of modern dance I would say. No attempt to generate any visual excitement but to create a more visceral experience. What can I say? In this man’s face was a world of expression which the four young athletic men around him couldn’t rival, even as the dance became more energetic and they twirled swords like extensions of their arms. He would leave the stage and they would dance. He would then return in the midst of their sword clashing and javelin thrusting with his serene poses movements. He moved like a cross between a flamenco dancer and a Buddhist monk. That’s the best way I could describe it. At one point he goes straight into a headstand in the midst of the performance. Another interesting moment came when his face danced, his eyebrows twitching up and down as it formed the different faces of a clown. Brilliant.
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