D for Digress Noni Ireri

Greetings, 

We found ourselves together again.

This episode carries a slightly different structure. It's based on an essay I should have published a while ago but well we are where we are. You can read it here: https://maktabani.org/2021/01/15/grit-not-in-this-country/

All music credits go to Yvonne Mutemi, you can check out her work here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNglLPYzAmaNFqpmYfnhHIQ



Happy listening!

On this episode: does tragedy make art, what exactly is tragedy and are some people more attuned to their tragedies than others?

Notes:

1. Resilience factors

Resilience factors are aspects of your life that help you adapt to adversity. These include: social connections, self-esteem, optimism, positive family relationships and a sense of community.



2. Tragic comedies

Tragic comedies are literary works that combine both tragedy and comedy. Think Bojack Horseman. I classified Dante's Inferno under this which is actually incorrect. Dante's journey through hell is a Divine Comedy. Comedy in this sense denoting the opposite of tragedy.



Our music today was composed specially for the podcast by the very talented Yvonne Mutemi. You can check out her work here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNglLPYzAmaNFqpmYfnhHIQ

As always, thank you for listening! 

On this episode: is love a kind of devotion? And if yes, should it be? 

We also discuss the differences between the short story, novel, and poetry (the podcast is called D for Digress after all).

Bonus: Peter reads out my poem 'Nightmares' and his song by the same name plays at the close.

Happy listening!



Notes:

1. The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway wrote this novel in 1926. I referred to When the Sun Goes Down (a completely different book) that was published in 2010. 



2. Cesar Vallejo

César Abraham Vallejo, a Peruvian poet, wrote the poem I reference 'Agape'. The line that I fixated on reads:

"Forgive me, Lord: I've died so little."

Some say the poem is about loneliness. I think it's about grace.



3. Ocean Vuong

Ocean Vuong, a Vietnamese-American poet, led me to Cesar. He's written a novel: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous which reads like poetry.



4. Nathan Hale

Peter quotes an American soldier and spy. This was Nathan Hale who died in 1776.  He was captured by the British while on an intelligence-gathering mission and executed by hanging. It was reported that his last words were:  'I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country'.



Music: Sulphur by Ayla and Kolia. 

Alright, so as often happens when two people work together we did this take twice (because what even is an objective 'good'?). What we did agree on is that we largely wanted the people who would listen to feel the energy more than anything else. This captures that, even if it does fall a bit short of explaining the 'why' of the podcast. 

A few notes on some of the references made:

1. The fourth wall

The fourth wall is an invisible wall that separates performers from the audience so the audience can look in but the performers can not look out. 

In this episode, it's used to question whether in other arts, writing for instance or even the making of this podcast, if there is a value to tearing down this fourth wall to facilitate free interaction. 

2. Henry Rider Haggard

H.R Haggard was an English writer of adventure fiction. Peter refers to one of his books King Solomon's Mines, published in 1885. In his writing, Haggard employed the technique I refer to, of inviting the reader into the space and 'breaking the fourth wall'.

3. Martin Seligman

Martin Seligman is often referred to as the father of positive psychology. The book I reference is Learned Optimism. He offers a Learned Optimism test that focuses on how we respond to different circumstances in life, based on our locus of control.

4. Writers: Vladimir Nabokov and Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Peter says we agree on writers and references Nabokov. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is, granted, a shared love between us. I also reference Dostoyevsky. We both agree that Notes from the Underground is a great book and it was in fact written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. 



For any references, we may have missed just reach out and we'll add them to the show notes. 

The track we're using was composed by the very talented Kolia and Ayla, all credit goes to them. 



Thank you for listening!