IN SUPPORT OF THE GEZI PARK RESISTANCE

[A text by the Editors' Platform in Turkey follows in: English, French, Italian, and the original Turkish] 

All kinds of censorship are contagious. The most insidious, hurtful and lethal sort is self-censorship. The weakening, numbing nature of self-censorship and its capacity to regulate reality, has given it an undeniable “legitimacy”. If societies become immune to this contagion, they shove free thought and reality into a black box. Somehow, these black boxes are almost always either missing or destroyed by power holders.

If a person is unable to express his/her thoughts openly, then he/she is condemned to a false existence. Subjection to fear or intimidation is not a way of life, but a way of death. A tree may be a simple symbol but as long as it keeps on living, it’s a vital one. Those who wish to live freely are not puppets: Nobody can rule control another’s will to live, the most fundamental freedom of all, or one’s right to breathe. A society which does not breathe cannot think. A society unable to think regresses, it is imprisoned in a single opinion and thus forced into uniformity. It becomes the puppet of narrow-mindedness and bigotry. At that point, the soil upon which one lives ceases to be soil and becomes instead a blind spot. Societies build “places for living”, not “places for dying”.

We believe that books written as a result of free, independent thinking comprise a sphere of freedom and that ties of friendship established via these books give birth to a real, transformative bond. We breathe through books, we exist with them, for free, independent and creative thinking are our passion; we want to know and share truth by disseminating knowledge and free thought.

The Turkish media should demonstrate its willingness to open black boxes and tell the truth ‒ right away.

The day has come to forge, together, freedom—freedom for those who are ignored, ostracized, deemed “a small minority” or “marginals”.  Now is the time to unite the aesthetics of different colours with the power of resistance and thus display the aesthetics of resistance. It is time for us to speak up and let it be known that we live fearlessly in favor of beauty, goodness, independence and that we exercise our right to breathe.

Lift this fog, this cloud of gas. Let everyone breathe, let minds to clear.

Arms are signs of cowardice.

People, like trees, are beautiful, so long as they stand.

EDITORS’ PLATFORM
ISTANBUL/TURKEY
www.editorlerplatformu.com

DECLARATION POUR LA RESISTANCE DU PARC GEZİ

Si toute censure est un virus, l’autocensure en est la forme la plus sournoise, la plus blessante et la plus fatale. Son caractère atrophiant et stupéfiant, sa tendance à contrôler la réalité lui assurent une “légalité” indéniable. Si les sociétés sont  désensibilisées face à  ce virus, elles enferment l’opinion libre et la vérité dans la boîte noire. On ne sait jamais pourquoi, mais ces boîtes noires se perdent systématiquement ou sont détruites par les détenteurs du pouvoir.

Lorsqu’on ne peut s’exprimer librement, la vie se trouve faussée. Avoir peur ou reculer n’est pas une façon de vivre, mais de mourir. Un arbre peut être un symbole simple, mais tant qu’il vit, il est un symbole vivant: les gens qui veulent vivre librement ne sont pas des marionnettes. Personne ne peut prendre sous son contrôle la volonté de vivre, la volonté de respirer qui est la liberté fondamentale sur la terre. Une société qui ne respire pas est incapable de penser. Et une société qui ne pense pas recule, elle  s’emprisonne dans une seule opinion figée, elle s’uniformise. Elle devient la marionnette de l’obscurantisme et d’un conservatisme étroit. Alors la terre où nous vivons n’est plus la terre, mais le point aveugle. Les sociétés créent des espaces pour “vivre”, pas pour “mourir”.

Nous croyons que les livres écrits par la pensée libre et indépendante créent un espace de liberté. Nous aussi croyons que l’amitié établie par ces livres anime une relation réelle et transformatrice. Nous respirons et nous existons grâce aux livres. Parce que nous sommes curieux de l’opinion libre, indépendante, créative et nous voulons savoir et partager la réalité en diffusant le savoir et l’opinion libre.

Les médias en Turquie doivent immédiatement montrer la volonté d’ouvrir les boîtes noires et doivent exprimer la réalité. C’est le jour de rendre effective la liberté de respirer pour les gens prétendument “minoritaires” ou “marginaux, pour tous ceux qui sont  ignorées, ceux qu’on essaye de marginaliser. C’est le jour d’exposer l’esthétique de la résistance en rassemblant l’esthétique des couleurs diverses avec la force de résistance. C’est le jour d’exprimer notre droit de respirer, de vivre sans avoir peur et d’être indépendant.

Retirez cette fumée, retirez ce nuage de gaz.

Laissez les gens respirer, laissez les esprits respirer.

L’arme est le symbole de la lâcheté.

Et l’homme est beau tant qu’il résiste comme un arbre.

PLATEFORME DES EDITEURS
ISTANBUL/TURQUIE
www.editorlerplatformu.com

COMUNICATO DELLA PIATTAFORMA DEGLI EDITORI

Ogni tipo di censura è contagioso. E l’autocensura è la forma di contagio più ingannevole, più offensiva e la più letale. Per la sua natura, la capacità di offuscare la realtà, di accecare e rendere dipendenti, ha acquisito una ‘legittimità’ innegabile. Quando le società diventano immuni a questo contagio inseriscono l’idea di libertà e la realtà in una scatola nera. In qualche modo queste scatole nere vengono sempre inevitabilmente perse o fatte scomparire da chi detiene il potere.

Quando qualcuno non riesce a esprimere in modo libero i propri pensieri, non si può che parlare di un’esistenza fasulla. La paura e l’ansia non sono un modo di vivere, ma una forma di morte. Un albero può essere un semplice simbolo, se entra a far parte della vita diventa un simbolo vitale: le persone che intendono vivere liberamente non sono dei fantocci. Non si può controllare la determinazione di vivere, la libertà di respirare, diritto fondamentale. Una società che non respira, non riesce a pensare e una società che non pensa regredisce e viene rinchiusa in un pensiero unico. Così le persone diventano fantocci, con orizzonti ristretti e una mentalità chiusa. La terra su cui si vive è un punto di non ritorno. Le società devono salvaguardare i propri ‘spazi di vita’, non ‘spazi di morte’.

Noi crediamo che i libri che si basano su un pensiero libero e indipendente rappresentino uno spazio di libertà e che facciano nascere. Grazie ai libri respiriamo, grazie ai libri esistiamo. Perché noi ricerchiamo un pensiero libero, indipendente, creativo, e vogliamo conoscere e far conoscere la realtà diffondendo la conoscenza e il pensiero libero.

I media turchi devono poter aprire il prima possibile ‘le scatole nere’ e mostrare la realtà. Oggi è il giorno in cui le persone definite “una piccola minoranza”, dei “marginali”, invisibili, stigmatizzate, tutte insieme, fianco a fianco, sono libere di respirare. È il giorno in cui si mostra un’estetica della resistenza composta dalla diversità dei colori e dalla capacità di ribellarsi. Oggi è il giorno in cui diciamo apertamente che viviamo dalla parte del bello e del buono, che viviamo in modo indipendente e senza paura, e che usiamo il nostro diritto a respirare.

Cacciate via questo fumo, questa nube di gas. Lasciate che tutti respirino e che le menti si illuminino.

Le armi sono il simbolo della codardia.

L’uomo é bello quando resiste come un albero.

LA PIATTAFORMA DEGLI EDITORI TURCHI
ISTANBUL/ TURCHIA
http://editorlerplatformu.com/

GEZİ PARKI DİRENİŞİ İÇİN BİLDİRİ

Sansürün her türlüsü virüstür. En sinsi, en yaralayıcı, en ölümcül olanı da otosansürdür. Otosansürün köreltici, gerçeği denetim altına alan, uyuşturucu karakteri ona yadsınamaz bir “yasallık” kazandırmıştır. Toplumlar bu virüse bağışıklık kazanırlarsa özgür düşünceyi, gerçeği karakutuya tıkarlar. Nedense, istikrarlı biçimde o karakutular hep kayıptır ya da iktidar sahiplerince yok edilir.

Kişi fikirlerini açıkça dile getiremiyorsa ancak sahte bir yaşama eyleminden söz edilebilir. Korku, sinmişlik bir yaşama biçimi değil, ölme biçimidir. Bir ağaç basit bir simge olabilir, yaşadıkça canlı bir simgedir: Özgürce yaşamak isteyen insanlar kukla değildir. Kimse yaşama iradesini, yeryüzündeki en temel özgürlük olan nefes alma özgürlüğünü denetim altına alamaz. Nefes almayan bir toplum düşünemez: düşünmeyen bir toplum geriler, tek bir düşünceye hapsolur, tektipleştirilir. Geri kafalılığın, dargörüşlülüğün kuklası haline gelir. Artık yaşanan toprak, toprak değil kör noktadır. Toplumlar “yaşanacak yer” kurarlar, “ölünecek yer” değil.

Biz, özgür, bağımsız düşünceyle yazılan kitapların bir özgürlük alanı oluşturduğuna, bu kitaplarla kurulan dostluğun dönüştürücü, gerçek bir ilişkiye hayat verdiğine inanıyoruz. Kitaplarla nefes alıyor, kitaplarla varoluyoruz. Çünkü özgür, bağımsız, yaratıcı düşünceye merak duyuyor, bilgiyi ve özgür düşünceyi yaymak suretiyle gerçeği bilmek ve paylaşmak istiyoruz.

Türkiye Medyası karakutuları açma iradesini bir an önce gösterip gerçeği dile getirebilmelidir.

Gün “küçük bir azınlık” ya da “marjinal” olduğu iddia edilen, görmezden gelinen, ötekileştirilmeye çalışılan insanların nefes alma özgürlüğünü bir arada, yan yana icra etme günüdür. Farklı renklerin estetiğini, direnme gücüyle birleştirip direnmenin estetiğini sergileme günüdür. Gün güzelden, iyiden yana, bağımsızca, korkusuzca yaşadığımızı, nefes alma hakkımızı kullandığımızı dile getirme günüdür.

Bu dumanı, gaz bulutunu kaldırın, bırakın herkes nefes alsın, zihinler aydınlansın.

Silah korkaklığın simgesidir.

İnsan da ağaç gibi direndikçe güzeldir.

EDİTÖRLER PLATFORMU
İstanbul-Türkiye
http://editorlerplatformu.com/

“I’ve turned this book over in my head many times and I’m mostly still at a loss. I haven’t read a book so unlike anything else in some time. Hungarian author Miklós Szentkuthy (1908-1988) wrote the ten volumes of St. Orpheus Breviary over a forty year period from the 1930s to the 1970s, and Marginalia on Casanova is the first, published in 1939 but written some years before that.

The series, or at least this first volume, is a tour through the European past, a tour through Szentkuthy’s labyrinthine library, twisting through the stranger paths of civilized minds to counter the dominant stories we learn as we’re growing up. Szentkuthy’s choice of Casanova (1725-1798) of all people as his intellectual centerpiece for the first volume is perfectly representative. Casanova’s love life doesn’t interest him per se. There is very little of the gossip or scandal of Casanova in here. He is much more attuned to Casanova’s sensibility, his emotional responses, and his ethics (such as they are). That he compares Casanova to Pope Benedict XIV should give some idea of what he’s after.

Szentkuthy also compares Casanova to Proust: both spent their last years reflecting ambivalently on the social high life in which they had previously been engaged. But for Szentkuthy, Casanova is the more interesting figure because he conducted his life with far less remove than Proust, with less concerted intellectual analysis.”

Read the whole review here: David Auerbach, Waggish (May 29, 2013)

Forthcoming in 2014!

Hungarian press on Contra Mundum and Szentkuthy

“Az első kötet, a Széljegyzetek Casanovához (Marginalia on Casanova, 2012) megjelenése után az első recenzens, Nicholas Birns máris így fogalmazott: kétségtelen, hogy Szentkuthy hamarosan elfoglalja méltó helyét a huszadik századi irodalmi kánonban, sőt meg is fogja változtatja azt. Idén augusztusban jelenik megAz egyetlen metafora felé (Towards the One and Only Metaphor), a jövő évre pedig a monumentális Prae első kötetét tervezi a kiadó. A Szentkuthy-műveket a Kertész-fordításairól ismert Tim Wilkinson ülteti át angolra.”

Read the entire piece here: Orzóy Ágnes, Litera (May 22, 2013)

“Beautifully edited and presented with a spirited afterword, the essays form part of over 1,400 separate sheets, themselves only a small part of over 27,000 sheets that are preserved in the Pessoa archive in the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal.

Often fragmentary, at times not much more than jottings, these essays lack the elegance of Pessoa’s verse and the wistful charm of his hetero-biographical prose. However, they abound in arresting and surprising insights and this book will be of absorbing interest not only to those who love Pessoa but also anyone who wants philosophy to be more than the dull rehearsal of commonplace pieties.”

Read the full review here: John Gray, The New Statesman (May 2, 2013)

David Van Dusen reviews Marginalia on Casanova:

“Szentkuthy’s “commentary” is possibly better classified as a novel; he himself considered it the first volume of Szentkuthy’s recherché, pan-European opus, the 10-volume Szent Orpheus breviáriuma (St. Orpheus Breviary). Marginalia on Casanova is a dazzling English rendering by Tim Wilkinson, of Szentkuthy’s 1939 book, and also Szentkuthy’s English debut. (The other volumes of the Breviary — with titles like Black Renaissance,Europa Minor and In the Footsteps of Eurydice — will, I hope, be forthcoming from Contra Mundum Press soon.)

Miklós Szentkuthy — born Miklós Pfisterer, in 1908 — introduced himself to Budapest’s literary circles in 1934 with a self-published novel, Prae, and he remained a provocative figure until his death in 1988. Szentkuthy is still referred to as the “sacred monster” of Hungarian letters, and the expression is apt. His huge output — foremost, the “Romanesque cathedral” that is the Breviary — is at once speculative and manneristic, hyper-erotic and hyper-religious, bleary eyed and clear-sighted.

Szentkuthy’s ambition was medieval: to produce a catalogus rerum, “an index of all entities.” His method is “Hellenistic-rococo”: he writes spirited variations on the letter of the canon. His syntax and affect are irreverently modernist, yet there is nothing programmatic about his avant-gardism, and what he wrote of Casanova holds true of him as well: “the muck of literary programme is not allowed to dirty his white cuffs.” In the Marginalia, “metaphysical facts,” “factual truths,” and deliriums are calculated to transect “with the epic grace of an apoplectic fit.” It is not accidental, then, that he was thrilled by the expression of the15th-century polymath, Nicolas of Cusa — echoed by Romantics like Novalis and Coleridge — that the essence of all things is a coincidentia oppositorum: a “coincidence of opposites.” Szentkuthy is, himself, such a coincidence.”

To read the entire review: Los Angeles Review of Books (May 2, 2013)

“As a text that defies classification into any particular genre, Towards the One and Only Metaphor is perhaps most accurately thought of as literature — in Blanchot’s expansive sense of the term, literature is that which ‘ruins’ distinctions and limits in its creation of a unique and amorphous hybrid beyond the distinctions of a particular genre. Originally published in 1935 and republished in 1985, Towards the One and Only Metaphor is, as Dezső Baróti elucidated, comprised of “unconventional journal-like passages expanded into short essays, plans for novels, poetic meditations that have the effect of free verse, and paradoxical aphorisms,” all of which reveal a moral philosophy, a politics, an erotics. “Its predominant motifs (insofar as one can succinctly describe it in a few words) are most especially nature, love, eroticism, sex. All that, however, is constantly painted over by the vibration of the unconcealed presence of a writer constantly in search of himself, and rife with beguiling, stimulating, and ever-renewed surprises.” In this sense, it is an essayistic and confessional work à la Montaigne, or like the ruminative waste books of Lichtenberg, or Joubert’s keen-eyed observations. Yet, if as fragmentary as those texts, Towards the One and Only Metaphor is at the same time ordered, like a group of disparate stars that, when viewed from afar, reveal or can be perceived to form a constellation — they are sculpted by a geometry of thought, for, as András Keszthelyi observed, the text is essentially something of a manifesto, “an explicit formulation of the author’s intentions, his scale of values, or, if you wish: his ars poetica.”

For the full essay: Asymptote (April 2013).

And for an excerpt from: Towards the One and Only Metaphor.

“The philosophical essays [of Pessoa] are thematically similar to Schopenhauer’s writings, especially his essay on free will, which Pessoa owned in a French translation.  The writing style resembles Pascal’s Pensees, Nietzsche’s Human, All Too Human, and even Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Remarks in that they are fragments on various philosophers and topics: rationalism, free will, causation, Pascal, Heraclitus, and Thomas Aquinas.

The essays will unlikely appeal to Anglo-American philosophers who eschew literary writing in favor of formal logic and linguistic analysis.  Pessoa’s meditations are impressionistic and fragmentary, not rigorously argumentative.  Thereby, he provides no deductive proofs or formulae.  Rather, he provides notebook entries that show a brilliant mind at work—profound insights without logical apparatus.

The newly published essays will allow readers to explore Pessoa’s philosophy in the context of his work.  Although Pessoa claimed to be a “poet animated by philosophy,” we can now consider him to be a philosopher, not merely a poet who researched philosophy.  In this way, Pessoa was a poet-philosopher akin to W.B. Yeats, not like T.S. Eliot or Wallace Stevens, who wrote on philosophical themes.”

Read the whole review here.

Allan Graubard on Pessoa’s Philosophical Essays in Leonardo 46: 1 (2013).

“The relationship of poetry to philosophy, and vice versa, which to my mind at least is one theme of these musings, however seemingly couched in the discourse of argument, is an exceptionally rich area. In one sense it returns to language a resolution not to foreclose too quickly on meaning, significance and resonance. In another sense it can open a reciprocal current that enlivens the concept that seeks clarity in its expression and the expression that seeks clarity in its embodiment.

I cannot but believe that behind Pessoa’s “pre-heteronyms,” which feed the current volume, and his “heteronyms,” which feed the books he is celebrated for, that play carried the day, and that all else to follow for their author would come because of his mastery in playing.

Pessoa’s Philosophical Essays are part and parcel of this sensibility, which left me wanting more from the aforesaid Charles Robert Anon and Alexander Search, however much those two last names, when placed contiguously, transform my want into something entirely else: Anon Search.” — Allan Graubard

Read the full review here.

András Nagy’s portrait of Szentkuthy in The Berlin Review of Books:

“The mask in general is an important part of the identity of the personality; paradoxically it may be even a synonym for it as the use of the borrowed “face” tells more of the person applying it than the features he is born with. The experience with identities was regularly developed into novels applying different protagonists, characters, and roles, yet Szentkuthy had to realize in the years to come that daily life must also be lived in different masks. A mask was needed to hide those features of his very self that were rejected by the more and more intolerant authorities that directly and indirectly attempted and partly infiltrated his life and even his works. However, with Szentkuthy’s intellect and unlimited free spirit, the attempts to control him regularly failed as he was happily using different incognitos and roles, while keeping deeply hidden what was behind the masks. These secrets were carefully registered and kept in a “giant-diary” as he liked to call it, hundreds of thousands of pages of the most authentic chronicle from his early age until almost to his death. It included significant entries for each day, obviously touching upon the most personal and the most abstract issues, being both extremely vulgar and extremely subtle, as well as ideas and recollections of people and events he came across, likely matching the same high artistic level and aesthetic quality as the rest of his work. Even if it will not be revealed still for many years to come, it is an important part, if not the most important one of the author’s oeuvre. Szentkuthy suggested in an interview that his whole oeuvre could be defined, described, and interpreted as a “giant-diary”, modeled on the textual corpus of Saint-Simon and of Montaigne. Stories, novels, studies, essays, etc. may turn out to have a wholly different meaning once read in the  larger context. It is easy to imagine then that once the diaries will be opened – this will occur for the first time in 2013 – readers will have to reinterpret all of Szentkuthy’s writings in a radically new way. Surprises, and even revelations, of literary history are to be expected in the years to come.”

For the full essay: go here.