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Donn Pearce
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- One with Books
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- One with Books
- Posts: 2752
- Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:30 am
- 13
- Has thanked: 2280 times
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- Taylor
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Re: Donn Pearce
"Short and Sweet" I've heard these words from someone awesome, Three words that describe my thoughts of Donn Pearce's three published fictions. When I read that, "three published fictions" I am admittedly surprised. Why not more? Well for starters it ain't easy, Just ask Harper Lee. Amazing stories are rare indeed, maybe that is why those rare stories possess such deep impact?. It certainly explains why we have so many stinkers at the local book dealer.
Donn Pearce's Three stories:
Cool Hand Luke.
Pier Head Jump.
Nobody Comes Back.
Three expert fictions that possess the realism of character, Pearce fabricated knowable people from whole cloth. Luke; A war hero jail bird! I know several. Parker; a young war veteran! I know more than a few. A sex doll; well...there I'm gotten, That's a venture I have lived without.
However I have friends who have worked in the merchant marine, Navy, or in other aspects of the shipping industry.(side point but may be relevant).
A sex doll you say...What's real about a thing like that? The dolls not real, as a person that is. What is real are the emotions that develop toward the doll. Drunk, horny, lonely, I've never been a sailor, but I could imagine an angst, could be foolishness, who's to say.
Donn Pearce has created characters of mythic proportion. I asked earlier, If it can be done by one lone genius (yes I think Pearce' work crosses Harold Blooms bridge, Pearce is more than a talent) late in the 20th century, than why not by concerted efforts of a group from the 1st century or earlier?.
Myth attached to realism. Dragline narrated the myth of Luke, Dragline was a disciple of Luke's renegade persona.
Donn Pearce provides the drama of life, comedy when a laugh is needed, tragedy that moves a teardrop.
Donn Pearce's Three stories:
Cool Hand Luke.
Pier Head Jump.
Nobody Comes Back.
Three expert fictions that possess the realism of character, Pearce fabricated knowable people from whole cloth. Luke; A war hero jail bird! I know several. Parker; a young war veteran! I know more than a few. A sex doll; well...there I'm gotten, That's a venture I have lived without.
However I have friends who have worked in the merchant marine, Navy, or in other aspects of the shipping industry.(side point but may be relevant).
A sex doll you say...What's real about a thing like that? The dolls not real, as a person that is. What is real are the emotions that develop toward the doll. Drunk, horny, lonely, I've never been a sailor, but I could imagine an angst, could be foolishness, who's to say.
Donn Pearce has created characters of mythic proportion. I asked earlier, If it can be done by one lone genius (yes I think Pearce' work crosses Harold Blooms bridge, Pearce is more than a talent) late in the 20th century, than why not by concerted efforts of a group from the 1st century or earlier?.
Myth attached to realism. Dragline narrated the myth of Luke, Dragline was a disciple of Luke's renegade persona.
Donn Pearce provides the drama of life, comedy when a laugh is needed, tragedy that moves a teardrop.
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- One with Books
- Posts: 2752
- Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:30 am
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- Been thanked: 727 times
Re: Donn Pearce
yeah i've often thought that for a story to have "legs" or "staying power" or "impact" it has to have deep psychological resonance because if it doesn't have that resonance in the psyche of the reader it is soon forgotten, unless it is brilliant in some other way.Amazing stories are rare indeed, maybe that is why those rare stories possess such deep impact?. It certainly explains why we have so many stinkers at the local book dealer.
so a story like "cool hand luke" will resonate deeply because a lot of people know what it feels like to have to hang on to your humanity in a system that is constantly trying to "git yer mind right". The prison is such a metaphor for life and society in many ways, with all it's rules and conformity, and luke is just like an aspect of us, one that is hard to kill in some, easier in others.
star wars, are you going the vader way or are you going with that other luke.
mythology is basically all about that resonance.
look at vampires, they are such an archetypal symbol, bankers are financial vampires, many people can be emotional vampires, the poetic image just works on so many levels, the 1% feed on the labour of the 99% etc etc no wonder the story has legs.
werewolves, when the animal side rages out of control over the better tendencies etc etc
christ is such a resonant archetype, who doesn't know what it feels like to be put to a slow death, i remember thinking about Jesus staggering down the street with the thorns cutting into his brow and thinking, yeah, that's me.
dying and rising, yeah i do that a most weeks even most days, in a metaphorical way.
we are surrounded by life which is a constant dying and rising affair, so the images have resonance.
if a story doesn't have that resonance it tends to just fade away.
but obviously the christ myth got hijacked and turned into an awful, ugly parody of it's original intent, that's why i dig the "cool hand luke" version, he's the real thing, the atheist christ.
what we have here is a failure to communicate indeed.
a failure to communicate with what we really are, those that live for the system cannot stand those that say 'fuck the system' that is the crime they hate for it shows them to be the pretenders they are.
i think that Donn is hitting hard upon that seam of reality, hidden reality of the psyche, the realest of the real.
exactly luke err... i mean TaylorDonn Pearce has created characters of mythic proportion.
and mythology needs constant updating to keep it in step with culture at large. Look at the Matrix, master blaster myth update.
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- One with Books
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Re: Donn Pearce
so basically any time something moves you it must be resonating with something within you. Else why would you even be responding?
- Taylor
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Re: Donn Pearce
Terrific!youkrst wrote:so a story like "cool hand luke" will resonate deeply because a lot of people know what it feels like to have to hang on to your humanity in a system that is constantly trying to "git yer mind right". The prison is such a metaphor for life and society in many ways, with all it's rules and conformity, and luke is just like an aspect of us, one that is hard to kill in some, easier in others.
Your response has me thinking about conformity, that there could be a graduated scale of sorts, I'm not clear on my thought here, I'm just sort of pondering, but recognition of ones own conformity, that part that's hard to kill, Its as though there is a sort of duality, Self loathing for having conformed to the "system" or loathing the non-conformist. Its that "easier" aspect, Brow beater or brow beaten. Its seems like youth or immaturity(both in this sense to be weaknesses), Compared with age, education, experience, wisdom I guess, there comes acceptance of a personalized level of conformity,. Is comfort an acceptable compromise? Living against the grain as a goal seems elusive, maybe even detrimental.( as Luke found out). Its about controlling that level of acceptance an individual should work towards, controlling what should be a willing/mutual agreement with life, society, employment. So the exciting part is knowing how to play it cool, get that thing you need, maybe even that thing you want. Negotiate from strength, conform to their rules, you may get what you want maybe more. Negotiate from weakness, conform to their rules, you may get what you need if you need little.
From the book of Cool Hand Luke;
"What can we do?" "Play it cool"
I've attached this quote because I just like it, for me there's no addendum needed.youkrst wrote:mythology is basically all about that resonance.look at vampires, they are such an archetypal symbol, bankers are financial vampires, many people can be emotional vampires, the poetic image just works on so many levels, the 1% feed on the labour of the 99% etc etc no wonder the story has legs.werewolves, when the animal side rages out of control over the better tendencies etc etcchrist is such a resonant archetype, who doesn't know what it feels like to be put to a slow death, i remember thinking about Jesus staggering down the street with the thorns cutting into his brow and thinking, yeah, that's me. dying and rising, yeah i do that a most weeks even most days, in a metaphorical way.we are surrounded by life which is a constant dying and rising affair, so the images have resonance.if a story doesn't have that resonance it tends to just fade away.but obviously the christ myth got hijacked and turned into an awful, ugly parody of it's original intent, that's why i dig the "cool hand luke" version, he's the real thing, the atheist christ.what we have here is a failure to communicate indeed.a failure to communicate with what we really are, those that live for the system cannot stand those that say 'fuck the system' that is the crime they hate for it shows them to be the pretenders they are.i think that Donn is hitting hard upon that seam of reality, hidden reality of the psyche, the realest of the real.
Last edited by Taylor on Thu Feb 11, 2016 8:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.