Stravaig 8 Part II – May 2020

Published by Alistair Duncan on 4 November 20254 November 2025

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Geopoetics and Geopoetry was the theme of last week's Faroe Isles Literary Festival which presented and discussed the work of many writers and translators from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, USA, the Faroes and Scotland. There was a lot of interest in geopoetics - and 6 new members joined the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics! ... See MoreSee Less

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Geopoetics Scottish Centre

4 weeks ago

As far back as 1996 at a conference in Bourges, Kenneth White spoke about his wish for his Gwenved home to become a writers' house. After a detailed desription of its contents which ideally he states should be kept the way the writer left it, he says, "In the first place, there must be total agreement on the interest of writers' houses. I think I have demonstrated that as far as I’m concerned, these houses have or can have a certain cultural value. If we manage to conceive of them and see them as centres of energy, as places of inspiration, perhaps we could begin to integrate them into a living, invigorating cultural field."The petition now has 1185 signatures. Come on Scotland, let's increase the number of signatories from his native land! bit.ly/Save_White_Home"GWENVED, MA MAISON EN BRETAGNE" — UNE DESCRIPTION PAR K. WHITE (fr/en/pt) — et toujours la pétition : c.org/mrgVbqpGpCPour mesurer l'importance de sa maison aux yeux de Kenneth White, non seulement d'un point de vue personnel mais aussi d'un point de vue général et culturel, nous vous proposons de lire ce court texte extrait d'une conférence sur le sujet.En 1996, il avait été sollicité pour parler des maisons d’écrivain, à Bourges, prémices à la naissance de la Fédération nationale des maisons d'écrivain et des patrimoines littéraires. La conférence de Kenneth White, intitulée « Le lieu des solitaires », passe en revue la diversité des maisons d’écrivain qu’il a pu visiter et leurs problématiques. Mais c’est la toute fin, consacrée à sa maison, que je vous propose de lire afin de mesurer à quel point la perspective d’extraire la bibliothèque et de vendre la maison est aberrante et scandaleuse :« Arrivé à la fin de mon périple, il me tarde de revenir chez moi. Il en est toujours ainsi. Si je pratique une certaine errance, c’est pour mieux fonder une résidence, pour lui donner à la fois une assise et une ampleur. Pérégrination et habitation vont, pour moi, de pair.La dernière maison d’écrivain dont je parlerai dans le cadre de ces rencontres sera la mienne.Gwenved, ma maison en Bretagne est pour moi, du moins jusqu’à présent (mais je n’oublie pas Gourgounel en Ardèche, et tant d’autres lieux), le lieu de concentration suprême — c’est là que j’ai rassemblé le plus de choses, c’est là que le recueillement est sans doute le plus complet. Il ne me déplaît pas, évidemment, que cette maison soit située dans un territoire marqué par ce phénomène géologique que l’on appelle un « complexe centré ». Il ne me déplaît pas non plus qu’elle soit située à peu près en plein milieu de l’Arc atlantique.Cette vieille maison de pierre (granite et schiste), située sur la côte nord du promontoire armoricain (la géographie en l’occurrence est aussi symbolique que la géologie) et entourée d’un jardin foisonnant à la fois clos et ouvert sur la côte, consiste en trois bâtiments. C’est dans celui qui était autrefois, en bas, l’étable, en haut, la grange, que j’ai installé ce que j’aime appeler mon « atelier atlantique », orienté ouest-est. Au-dessus de la porte on lit ces mots : « hoc opus hic labor est » (là l’oeuvre, ici le travail). Sur le rebord de la fenêtre de l’ouest, cette phrase d’Héraclite : « poïein kata physin » (produire selon ce qui éclôt) ; sous celle de l’est, ce koan zen : « persévérer dans la lumière du matin ».Ce qui frappe sans doute dès l’abord, ce sont les pierres. Il y en a partout, posées à même le sol, sur les étagères. Parfois, elles m’ont attiré par leur forme, tout simplement. D’autres ont des incrustations cristallines, ou sont couvertes de concrétions marines, ou contiennent des fossiles. Plusieurs sont posées sur des tas de manuscrits, selon leur taille ou leur couleur, en correspondance avec l’importance du tas et la couleur de la chemise qui contient les feuilles. D’autres juxtapositions de ce genre me plaisent : un gros morceau de pierre grise incrustée d’un oeil blanc (cercle blanc, pupille noire) se tient à côté de The Dawn in Britain de Charles Doughty... Au début, je ne marquais pas la provenance des pierres : le seul fait de penser qu’elles venaient de diverses régions de la terre me suffisait. Mais depuis un certain temps, je note les lieux où je les ai trouvées : Causse Méjean, Aubeterre, Anse Macabou, La Caravelle (Martinique), Tobago Keys, Skagen (Baltique) Montserrat, Hokkaïdo...A côté des pierres, les os, les ossements : omoplate de caribou, crânes d’oiseaux... Aussi des photographies d’objets provenant de sites paléolithiques : les têtes de cheval et les bois de rennes sculptés et gravés de la grotte d’Isturitz, par exemple. Et puis il y a des dessins chamaniques, où la personne du chamane est réduite à son squelette, par une sorte de réduction ontologique radicale.Sur les murs, sont épinglées quantité d’images (gravures et dessins) d’oiseaux en particulier, comme si la réduction était le prélude à l’envol : fou de Bassan, hibou petit duc, héron cendré, bruant des neiges...Ensuite, il y a les cartes : celle des zones écologiques de la fin de la glaciation ; celle de la zone des steppes dans l’Eurasie ; celle du bord atlantique de la nappe glaciaire écossaise ; celle du monde selon Strabon ; celle du monde selon Hérodote ; celle du monde selon Denys le Périégète ; celle du périple de Pythéas ; celle des grandes migrations indo-européennes ; celle du domaine cimmérien au VIIIe siècle avant notre ère ; celle de l’expansion des Scythes ; celle des relations précolombiennes à travers le Pacifique ; celle du périple de Lapérouse ; celle des Antilles et du golfe du Mexique avec leurs débarquements...Mais je renonce à essayer de fournir une description complète. Il y a tant d’images, et tant d’associations entre un objet et un autre, tant de liaisons entre les choses et les livres que c’est toute une iconographie qu’il faudrait, tout un livre - et, peut-être, qui sait, une visite guidée. Ce qui nous ramène à la question générale de la maison d’écrivain.L’idéal, évidemment, serait que la maison soit maintenue exactement telle que l’écrivain l’a laissée. Le cas est sans doute assez rare. Il y va, en premier lieu, de la situation économique de l’écrivain, ainsi que de la situation économique, et de l’état d’esprit de la famille. Si l’écrivain est totalement libre, et a assez de fortune pour assurer le maintien d’une fondation, beaucoup de problèmes ne se poseront pas. Mais encore une fois, le cas est sans doute très rare. Quant aux instances chargées de leur organisation, elles peuvent avoir des statuts et des moyens très variés et très variables, allant des associations des amis de l’écrivain aux organismes d’État, avec parfois des collaborations permanentes ou ponctuelles entre les deux. L’aléatoire et l’arbitraire règnent. On aimerait un peu plus de réflexion et de coordination (ce colloque est la preuve que l’on ressent ce besoin) et qu’une politique conséquente soit mise en place. En tout premier lieu, il faut que l’accord soit total sur l’intérêt des maisons d’écrivains. Je pense avoir démontré qu’en ce qui me concerne, ces maisons ont ou peuvent avoir une valeur culturelle certaine. Si on arrive à les concevoir et à les voir comme des foyers d’énergie, comme des lieux d’inspiration, on pourrait peut-être commencer à les intégrer dans un champ culturel vivant, vivifiant.Pour terminer, je voudrais poser une question. Je suis un écrivain sans fortune qui, en temps voulu, voudrait léguer sa maison à l’État (français) pour qu’il en fasse une fondation. Comment faire ? (Rires)Kenneth WHITE, Bourges, le 18 octobre 1996—————————————————————————— « GWENVED, MY HOUSE IN BRITTANY...» — a description by K.WHITE — and still the petition c.org/mrgVbqpGpCTo measure the importance of his house in the eyes of Kenneth White, not only from a personal point of view but also from a general and cultural point of view, we suggest you read this short text extracted from a conference on the subject.In 1996, he had been asked to speak about writers' houses, in Bourges, the beginnings at the birth of the National Federation of writers' houses and literary heritages. His conference, entitled "The place of the loner", reviews the diversity of writer’s houses he has been able to visit and their issues. But it is the very end, devoted to his house, that I propose you read in order to measure how aberrant and scandalous the prospect of extracting the library and selling the house is:“Arrived at the end of my journey, I can’t wait to return home. It is always like this. If I practice a certain wandering, it is to better found a residence, to give it both a foundation and an amplitude. Pilgrimage and habitation go, for me, hand in hand.The last writer’s house I will talk about in these meetings will be mine.Gwenved, my home in Brittany, is for me, at least until now (but I do not forget Gourgounel in Ardèche, and so many other places), the supreme place of concentration—it is there that I have gathered the most things, it is there that meditation is undoubtedly the most complete. It does not displease me, obviously, that this house is located in a territory marked by this geological phenomenon called a "centered complex". I don’t mind either that it is located roughly in the middle of the Atlantic Arc.This old stone house (granite and schist), located on the north coast of the Armorican promontory (geography in this case is as symbolic as geology) and surrounded by a teeming garden both enclosed and open to the coast, consists of three buildings. It is in the one that was once, downstairs, the stable, at the top, the barn, that I have installed what I like to call my 'Atlantic workshop', facing west-east. Above the door, one reads these words: 'hoc opus hic labor est' (there the work, here the labour). On the windowsill in the west, this phrase from Heraclitus: 'poiein kata physin' (to produce according to what erupts); under that of the east, this zen koan: 'persevere in the morning light'.What probably strikes from the first is the stones. There are them everywhere, placed on the ground, on the shelves. Sometimes they attracted me by their shape, simply. Others have crystalline incrustations, or are covered with marine concretions, or contain fossils. Several are placed on piles of manuscripts, according to their size or color, in correspondence with the importance of the pile and the color of the folder containing the sheets. Other juxtapositions of this kind please me: a large piece of gray stone encrusted with a white eye (white circle, black pupil) stands next to The Dawn in Britain by Charles Doughty... At first, I did not mention the origin of the stones: the mere thought that they came from various regions of the earth was enough for me. But for some time, I have been noting the places where I found them: Causse Méjean, Aubeterre, Anse Macabou, La Caravelle (Martinique), Tobago Keys, Skagen (Baltic) Montserrat, Hokkaido...Next to the stones, the bones, the remains: caribou shoulder blades, bird skulls... Also photographs of objects from Paleolithic sites: the sculpted and engraved horse heads and reindeer antlers from the Isturitz cave, for example. And then there are shamanic drawings, where the shaman’s person is reduced to his skeleton, by a kind of radical ontological reduction.On the walls, are pinned a number of images (engravings and drawings) of birds in particular, as if the reduction were the prelude to flight: gannet, owl, grey heron, snow bunting...Then, there are the maps: those of the ecological zones at the end of the glaciation; those of the steppe zone in Eurasia; those of the Atlantic edge of the Scottish ice sheet; those of the world according to Strabo; those of the world according to Herodotus; those of the world according to Dionysius the Perieghetian; that of the journey of Pythéas; that of the great Indo-European migrations; that of the Cimmerian domain in the eighth century BC; that of the expansion of the Scythians; that of pre-Columbian relations across the Pacific; that of the journey of Lapérouse; that of the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico with their landings...But I give up trying to provide a full description. There are so many images, and so many associations between one object and another, so many connections between things and books that it would take a whole iconography, a whole book - and, perhaps, who knows, a guided tour. Which brings us back to the general question of the writer’s house.The ideal, obviously, would be for the house to be maintained exactly as the writer left it. The case is undoubtedly quite rare. It goes, in the first place, of the economic situation of the writer, as well as the economic situation, and the state of mind of the family. If the writer is totally free, and has enough fortune to ensure the maintenance of a foundation, many problems will not arise. But again, the case is undoubtedly very rare. As for the bodies responsible for their organization, they can have very varied and variable statuses and means, ranging from associations of friends of the writer to state organizations, with sometimes permanent or occasional collaborations between the two. Randomness and arbitrariness reign. We would like a little more reflection and coordination (this conference is proof that we feel this need) and for a consistent policy to be implemented.In the first place, there must be total agreement on the interest of writers' houses. I think I have demonstrated that as far as I’m concerned, these houses have or can have a certain cultural value. If we manage to conceive of them and see them as centres of energy, as places of inspiration, perhaps we could begin to integrate them into a living, invigorating cultural field.To conclude, I would like to ask a question. I am a fortune-less writer who, in due course, would like to bequeath his house to the (French) state for it to be made a foundation. How to do it? (Laughter)”Kenneth WHITE, Bourges, on October 18, 1996————————————————————"GWENVED, MINHA CASA NA BRETANHA" - UMA DESCRIÇÃO POR K. WHITE — e sempre a petição c.org/mrgVbqpGpCPara medir a importância de sua casa aos olhos de Kenneth White, não apenas de um ponto de vista pessoal mas também de um ponto de vista geral e cultural, propomos-lhe ler este breve texto extraído de uma conferência sobre o assunto.Em 1996, ele foi convidado para falar sobre as casas de escritores, em Bourges, o início do nascimento da Federação Nacional das casas de escritores e dos patrimônios literários. A conferência de Kenneth White, intitulada "O lugar dos solitários", passa em revista a diversidade das casas de escritores que ele visitou e suas problemáticas. Mas este é o final, dedicado à sua casa, que eu vos proponho ler para medir até que ponto a perspectiva de extrair a biblioteca e vender a casa é aberrante e escandalosa:Quando chego ao fim da minha viagem, mal posso esperar para voltar para casa. É sempre assim. Se pratico uma certa errância, é para melhor fundar uma residência, para lhe dar ao mesmo tempo uma base e uma amplitude. Para mim, peregrinação e habitação andam de mãos dadas.A última casa de escritor da qual falarei no âmbito destes encontros será a minha.Gwenved, a minha casa na Bretanha é para mim, pelo menos até agora (mas não esqueço Gourgounel em Ardèche e tantos outros lugares), o lugar de concentração supremo - foi aí que juntei mais coisas, foi ali que o recolhimento é sem dúvida o mais completo. Não me desagrada, evidentemente, que esta casa esteja situada num território marcado por este fenómeno geológico a que se chama um "complexo centralizado". Também não me desagrada o facto de estar situada aproximadamente no meio do Arco Atlântico.Esta velha casa de pedra (granito e xisto), situada na costa norte do promontório armoricano (a geografia neste caso é tão simbólica quanto a geologia) e rodeada por um amplo jardim ao mesmo tempo fechado e aberto sobre a costa, consiste em três edifícios. É no que antes era, em baixo, o estábulo, em cima, o celeiro, que instalei o que gosto de chamar de minha "oficina atlântica", orientada oeste-leste. Sobre a porta lê-se estas palavras: "hoc opus hic labor est" (ali obra, aqui trabalho). No parapeito da janela a oeste, esta frase de Heráclito: "poïein kata physin" (produzir segundo o que se desfaz); sob a do leste, este koan zen: "perseverar na luz da manhã".O que certamente impressiona à primeira vista são as pedras. Elas estão por toda parte, colocadas no chão, nas prateleiras. Às vezes, elas simplesmente me atraíam pela sua forma. Outras têm incrustações cristalinas, ou estão cobertas de concreções marinhas, ou contêm fósseis. Vários são colocados em pilhas de manuscritos, segundo o seu tamanho ou cor, em correspondência com a importância da pilha e a cor da camisa que contém as folhas. Outras justaposições deste género me agradam: um grande pedaço de pedra cinzenta incrustada com um olho branco (círculo branco, pupila negra) está ao lado de The Dawn in Britain de Charles Doughty... No início, não indicava a proveniência das pedras: bastava-me pensar que elas vinham de várias regiões da terra. Mas há algum tempo que registo os locais onde as encontrei: Causse Méjean, Aubeterre, Anse Macabou, La Caravelle (Martinica), Tobago Keys, Skagen (Báltico) Montserrat, Hokkaïdo...Ao lado das pedras, os ossos: omoplatas de caribu, crânios de pássaros... Também fotografias de objetos provenientes de sítios paleolíticos: as cabeças de cavalo e as madeiras de renas esculpidas e gravadas da gruta de Isturitz, por exemplo. E depois há desenhos xamânicos, onde a pessoa do xamã é reduzida ao seu esqueleto, por uma espécie de redução ontológica radical.Nas paredes estão afixadas muitas imagens (gravuras e desenhos) de aves em particular, como se a redução fosse o prelúdio ao voo: louco de Basã, coruja pequeno-duque, hera cinzenta, resmungando neve...Em seguida, há os mapas: o das zonas ecológicas do fim da glaciação; o da zona das estepes na Eurásia; o da borda atlântica do lençol glacial escocês; o do mundo segundo Estrabão; o do mundo segundo Heródoto; o do mundo segundo Dionísio Perigeto; a da viagem de Pitheas; a das grandes migrações indo-europeias; a do domínio cimmeriano no século VIII antes de nossa era; a da expansão dos cítios; a das relações pré-colombianas através do Pacífico; a da viagem de Lapérouse; a das Antilhas e do Golfo do México com os seus desembarques...Mas eu renuncio a tentar fornecer uma descrição completa. Há tantas imagens, e tantas associações entre um objeto e outro, tantas ligações entre as coisas e os livros que é toda uma iconografia que seria necessária, todo um livro - e, quem sabe, talvez uma visita guiada. O que nos leva à questão geral da casa de escritor.O ideal, evidentemente, seria que a casa fosse mantida exatamente como o escritor a deixou. O caso é sem dúvida bastante raro. Trata-se, em primeiro lugar, da situação econômica do escritor, bem como da situação econômica e do estado de espírito da família. Se o escritor for totalmente livre, e tiver fortuna suficiente para assegurar a manutenção de uma fundação, muitos problemas não surgirão. Mas, novamente, o caso é sem dúvida muito raro. Quanto às instâncias encarregadas da sua organização, elas podem ter estatutos e meios muito variados e variáveis, que vão das associações dos amigos do escritor aos organismos de Estado, com colaborações permanentes ou pontuais entre os dois. O aleatório e a arbitrariedade reinam. Gostaríamos de um pouco mais de reflexão e de coordenação (este colóquio é a prova de que se sente essa necessidade) e que uma política consequente fosse posta em prática. Em primeiro lugar, é preciso que o acordo seja total sobre o interesse das casas de escritores. Penso ter demonstrado que, no que me diz respeito, estas casas têm ou podem ter um valor cultural certo. Se conseguirmos concebê-los e vê-los como focos de energia, como lugares de inspiração, talvez possamos começar a integrá-los num campo cultural vivo e revigorante.Por último, gostaria de fazer uma pergunta. Sou um escritor sem fortuna que, a seu tempo, gostaria de legar a sua casa ao Estado (francês) para que fizesse dela uma fundação. O que fazer? (Risos)Kenneth WHITE, Bourges, 18 de outubro de 1996 ... See MoreSee Less

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Geopoetics Scottish Centre

4 weeks ago

I read it with great pleasure and found it a moving and fascinating story of the relationship between a crofter mother and her daughter, their memories of their dead geologist husband and father, told in beautiful poems and prose. I very much identify with Jim's spare style of writing.His detailed knowledge of the harsh realities of farming life and of the geological significance of Assynt shines through, particularly in his portrayal of farming work, its mountains and the process of glaciation. You're in for a treat if you can make it along to the launch tomorrow night. All the best, Norrie ... See MoreSee Less

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Stravaig 8 Part II – May 2020

Expressing the Earth World Premiere

Stravaig issue 16 Call for Submissions of Poems, Essays and Images related to Geopoetics by Sunday 2 March 2025

Celebrate 30 Years of the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics & the book launch of “Living on an Island Expressing the Earth” at the Quaker Meeting House, Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on Saturday 25 January at 2 pm

Stravaig 8 Part II – May 2020

Related Posts

Expressing the Earth World Premiere

Stravaig issue 16 Call for Submissions of Poems, Essays and Images related to Geopoetics by Sunday 2 March 2025

Celebrate 30 Years of the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics & the book launch of “Living on an Island Expressing the Earth” at the Quaker Meeting House, Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh on Saturday 25 January at 2 pm