Josie Tutorial 6.10.22

A few notes from our conversation:

Staying in touch with the experience with regards to how to relate being in nature.

Where the human is in relationship to posthuman. "they show with clarity and insight that the posthuman should not be depicted as an apocalyptic break with the past. Rather, it exists in a relation of overlapping innovation and replication" N. Katherine Hayles, 2003, Afterword: The Human in the Posthuman

A wood and an atmosphere that is unsettling. A blending of two worlds, technologically futuristic and old animistic indigenous ways. And think about all the ways to record an experience in these environments.

Nature reclaiming industry and humans reclaiming nature

Encouraging a lateral way of thinking and discovering more edgey and contemporary artists that encourage debate about where technology is taking the human and also encouraging reconnecting with nature.

Giuseppe Penone and how his work reveals the interconnected nature of everything that exists.

https://giuseppepenone.com/en

Zheng-Bo's approach to working out in nature

https://www.frieze.com/article/zheng-bo

https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2022/milk-dreams/zheng-bo

(Venice Biennale had a curatorial theme that included thinking about the more than human and cyborgs - might be worth a little browse here too: https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2022/statement-cecilia-alemani)

https://fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/pond

Feverish and forthright, Pond is an absorbing chronicle of the pitfalls and pleasures of a solitudinous life told by an unnamed woman living on the cusp of a coastal town. Broken bowls, belligerent cows, swanky aubergines, trembling moonrises and horrifying sunsets, the physical world depicted in these stories is unsettling yet intimately familiar and soon takes on a life of its own. Captivated by the stellar charms of seclusion but restless with desire, the woman’s relationship with her surroundings becomes boundless and increasingly bewildering. Claire-Louise Bennett’s startlingly original first collection slips effortlessly between worlds and is by turns darkly funny and deeply moving. ‘This is an extraordinary collection of short stories – profoundly original though not eccentric, sharp and tender, funny and deeply engaging. A very new sort of writing, Bennett pushes the boundaries of the short story out into new territory: part prose fiction, part stream of consciousness, often truly poetry and always an acute, satisfying, delicate, honest meditation on both the joys and frustrations of a life fully lived in solitude. Take it slowly, because it is worth it, and be impressed and joyful.’ — Sara Maitland, author of A Book of Silence ‘I’d heard more good whispers about Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett than almost any other debut this year so, by the time I read it, expectations were high and – as it turned out – not disappointed. These stories are intelligent and funny, innovative and provocative, and it’s impossible to read them without thinking that here is a writer who has only just begun to show what she can do.’ — Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing ‘Bennett’s language is an ornate and long-winded riposte to all those pared-back minimalists, and I love it.’ — Jon McGregor, The Guardian ‘This is a truly stunning debut, beautifully written and profoundly witty.’ — Andrew Gallix, The Guardian ‘This uncategorizable book will leave you positively buoyant.’ — Heller McAlpin, LA Times ‘Wielding a wry but implacable logic, Claire-Louse Bennett dives under the surface of “ordinary” experiences and things to reveal their supreme and giddy illogic. Like Gail Scott and Lydia Davis before her, she writes an impeccable affect-less prose that almost magically arrives at something extraordinary.’ — Chris Kraus, author of I Love Dick ‘Claire-Louise Bennett is a major writer to be discovered and treasured.’ — Deborah Levy, author of Swimming Home ‘As brilliant a debut and as distinct a voice as we’ve heard in years – this is a real writer with the real goods.’ — Kevin Barry, author of City of Bohane ‘A touch of William Gaddis. A touch of Lydia Davis. A touch of Samuel Beckett. A touch of Edna O’Brien. And yet Claire-Louise Bennett’s Pond feels entirely unique. Quiet and luxurious all at once, this will be one of the most sensational debuts of the year.’ — Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin ‘Claire-Louise Bennett sets the conventions of literary fiction ablaze in this ferociously intelligent and funny debut. Don't be fooled by Pond’s small size. It contains multitudes.’ — Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation -- Claire-Louise Bennett interviewed by The Paris Review Claire-Louise Bennett interviewed by Honest Ulsterman Claire-Louise Bennett in conversation with Lauren Elkin at Shakespeare & Company

Claire-Louise Bennett grew up in Wiltshire in the southwest of England. Her short fiction and essays have been published in The Stinging Fly, The Penny Dreadful, The Moth, Colony, The Irish Times, The White Review and gorse. She was awarded the inaugural White Review Short Story Prize in 2013 and has received bursaries from the Arts Council Ireland and Galway City Council. Pond is her first collection of stories.