SYMMETRICAL ASYMMETRY

by | Feb 27, 2024

Hi Everyone,

Welcome back to this virtual alcove.

It’s been a while between posts but posting comments merely for the sake of posting comments has never sat comfortably with me.

In starting, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to all of you who have taken a punt on Everything That Stands. Your willingness to immerse yourselves in the world I’ve created has inspired me to continue, and I’m excited to share that the next instalment in the Baron Black trilogy, A Thousand Swords, is well underway and should be ready for publication by the end of this year.

Your support of this book project has also allowed me to make a substantial donation to the John Bradburne Society, supporting its invaluable work at the Care Centre at Mutemwa in Zimbabwe, a cause close to my heart.

Your feedback, whether shared publicly or personally, is crucial to me as a writer. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to leave a review on my website (Why does the bird sing?), Goodreads, and Amazon. Your honest thoughts and opinions not only assist potential readers in navigating the vast sea of literature out there, but also provide me with invaluable insights into your experience with Everything That Stands. Your reviews shape the conversation around the book and contribute to its ongoing journey in the literary landscape, as well as helping with the next writing project.

Many of you have asked for an explanation of the ‘metamodern impulse’ at the heart of the novel. While I am aware that a book’s interpretation transcends the intentions of the author, I believe discussing this impulse can shed light on its ideas.

Rooted in the cultural zeitgeist of our times, metamodernism seeks to ‘deconstruct’, reconstruct, and transcend the polarities of postmodernism and modernism, embracing both sincerity and irony, idealism and pragmatism. It is a critical style or episteme that acknowledges the complexities of our world while daring to envision new possibilities for the future.

Within the realm of the metamodern lies the emerging field of metamodern theopoetics — a re-exploration of the sacred in the liminal space of uncertainty and flux. In Everything That Stands, I attempt to reconceptualise the sacred through this lens. The brothers’ journey through the wasteland re-languages, re-enchants, and transcends traditional notions of the divine, inviting readers to re-imagine the sacred in a time between worlds.

At the heart of this exploration is the oxymoron ‘symmetrical asymmetry’ – as counterpoint to Blake’s notion of ‘fearful symmetry’ in his poem ‘The Tyger’ – a concept that encapsulates the paradoxical nature of the sacred and profane in the creator and creation. I found Sean Holt’s striking image ‘Sacri-religious’ (accompanying this post), a useful visual representation of this paradox. His portrayal of a truncated body with bloodied hands serves as a powerful contrast to Blakean symmetry.

 

In SBH’s image, we are confronted with the raw, unfiltered reality of existence – simultaneously interconnected and disconnected – a reality that defies neat categorisations, and which challenges our preconceived notions of the sacred.

Just as in life, where balance is found not in perfect symmetry but in the harmonious interplay of asymmetrical elements, so too is the sacred found in the dynamic tension between the immanent and the transcendent, the finite and the infinite. As de Mello’s bird sings, unbound by the constraints of convention, so too do we find beauty in the chaotic and contradictory ebb and flow of existence. It is a dance of light and shadow, of creation and destruction, of hope and despair – a provisional interplay that defies explanation yet beckons us into its liminal space.

For those who have yet to dive into the world of Everything That Stands, I extend a warm invitation to join the conversation. Our culture of debate (and debate about culture) thrives on diverse perspectives and voices, and your participation would be welcome.

To conclude, let us continue, together, to explore the mysteries of existence, to challenge the boundaries of our understanding, and to embrace the symmetrical asymmetry that defines our shared humanity.

With anticipation and my best wishes,

A jornada continua,

Jeremy H.