Letters from Palestine

New book: “Letters from Palestine” by Kenneth Ring

Wheatmark, 2010

Kenneth Ring’s book “Letters from Palestine” provides a comprehensive insight into Palestinians daily life, their challenges and thoughts about the future. The book consists of letters and interviews with Palestinians who either live on the West Bank, the Gaza Strip or in the United States. They all share a strong Palestinian identity and a pride of being Palestinian.

Kenneth Ring, a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut, has edited the book wisely. The Palestinians in the book appear to be unusually committed, resourceful and reflective. From reading the book it is clear that Palestinians emphasize education and knowledge.

In the book’s part 1 young Palestinians, all of them graduate students, are explaining how it is to grow up in America. Sheer Nasser and Rawan Arar, both students at the University of Texas, and Shireen Tawil from Washington D.C. are among the contributors giving Palestinians in the United States a voice through their personal stories . All of them very well written and told in a straightforward manner. It is interesting how they use daily-life situations to describe and illustrate the lack of knowledge and ignorance, as well as curiosity, about Palestine.

The poem “Pick Me Up” by poet and filmmaker Hind Shoufani about the Palestinian people defying geography is highly recommended.

The West Bank

In the book’s part 2 we meet Palestinians from the West Bank describing the difficulties they have with moving around, always confronted by Israeli roadblocks. It feels like living in a prison for many of them. Sheeren Naser is describing the difficulties she has entering the West Bank as a young Palestinian. Manar Fars has written a diary from the Dheisheh refugee camp where she grew up. Jiries Canavati, a Christian Palestinian, writes about the siege of Bethlehem in 2002 and how he later is denied leaving the city.

The stories from the West bank are numerous, they are well-written and they make an impression. The book is an excellent introduction to the region’s complexity and the Palestinian situation, told by Palestinians themselves.

Disaster on the Gaza Strip

The book’s part 3 consists of first-hand accounts of life on the Gaza Strip during the Israeli blockade that started in 2006 and the disastrous Israeli attack that began on 27th of December 2009.  More than 1400 Palestinians were killed, among them 900 civilians and 300 children, before Israel pulled out on 18th of January 2010. In addition, 1600 children were wounded, many of them seriously.

The Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert’s work is described as follows by Hanan Hamouda Hamad, a young woman from the refugee camp Nuseirat: “One Norwegian doctor, Mads Gilbert, who has been working there for now eight days, with almost no sleep himself, broke down in tears last night because of the children he can’t help and can only see die. And then he has to tell their parents - when they are alive to tell.”

This section of the book leaves the strongest impression, naturally enough because of the dramatic circumstances under which the letters were written. The war broke out as an irony of fate just as Kenneth Ring was editing the book, providing an unintended dramaturgy.

Excellent introductory chapter

Kenneth Ring (right) has edited the book in an excellent manner, and from reading the book it is clear that his personal contact with the contributing authors has added a special closeness and warmth. In his introductory chapter “The Road to Ramallah” Kenneth Ring explains how he became involved in the Palestinian cause and how the book evolved. His own Jewish background influenced him in this process. The introductory chapter is highly recommended reading.

The book is suitable for teaching purposes, perhaps not surprising as it is edited by an experienced psychology professor. Ring has had assistance from Ghassan Abdullah with the book. Abdullah has also written letters himself about life under occupation.

“Letters from Palestine” is an important contribution to increased knowledge and understanding of the Palestinian situation. The book is highly recommended and deserves wide distribution and attention.

Letters from Palestine

My Norwegian review of Kenneth Ring's book "Letters from Palestine: Palestinians Speak Out about Their Lives, Their Country, and the Power of Nonviolence" is now published at ABC Nyheter. An English version of the review will soon be published at this blog.

You can go to my Norwegian review here.

Norwegian Review of Thomas Sullivan's novel "Second Soul"

My Norwegian review of Thomas Sullivan's excellent novel "Second Soul" is now published in the Norwegian publication ABC Nyheter. Read my full review in Norwegian here.

"Second Soul" is a novel with special relevance for Norwegian readers. The starting point of the story is based on Anna Bågenholm's near-fatal ski accident in Narvik in 1999. Bågenholm, an experienced cross country skier, was skiing downhill from Mørkhola on her Telemark skis as she slid down a steep icy gully and ended up submerged head first in a hole in the ice in a 56 degree (Fahrenheit) stream for more than 80 minutes. She was clinically dead but was miraculously saved by a team of doctors lead by Mads Gilbert at Tromsø University Hospital.

Thomas Sullivan transposed this event to an American setting in "Second Soul". The main character Michael Carmichael, the Waterfall Man, is skiing outside Sheshebans in Minnesota as he loses control and skies into an ice cold waterfall. From this starting point Thomas Sullivan developes his own story full of drama, psychology and action. Key to the the drama is the text of Ecclesiastes 3:21: "Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? (The Book of Ecclesiastes, The Old Testament).

His lively description of skiing techniques and styles as well as snow conditions is a treat. I strongly recommend the book.

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra Live Mahler Recording

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra is working hard to regain its position as one of the world's leading symphony orchestras. On March 12th Oslo Philharmonic recorded Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony live in Oslo Concert Hall in front of a by-invitation-only audience.

Oslo Philharmonic became one of the world's leading musical ensembles with Russian chief conductor Mariss Jansons. The orchestra struggled to hold on to its position with the famous André Previn as music director. In 2006 the Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste (right) was appointed new music director. He certainly has what it takes to bring Oslo Philharmonic once again to the elite division of symphony orchestras.

Mahler's Sixth Symphony ("The Tragic") is a massive, destructive symphony leaving nothing behind after the crushing hammer-blows. There are of course several great recordings of Mahler's Sixth Symphony available. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s recording conducted by Mariss Jansons (RCO, 2006) and Berliner Philharmoniker's recording conducted by Claudio Abbadio (Deutsche Grammophon, 2005) will be obvious reference recordings.

Oslo Philharmonic’s recording of Gustav Mahler’s Sixth Symphony will be in store in fall 2010.

Oslo Leads the Way as International Music Capital

Oslo has taken the center stage as international music capital. This week the new music year kicks off with Bylarm; a yearly Norwegian music conference and festival gathering music business people and up-and-coming artists from Norway and other Nordic countries.

In addition to Bylarm high-quality events such as Oslo World Music Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival, Øya Festival (rock), Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Norwegian Wood (rock), and Music Day Oslo (rock), to name a few, continue to attract international audiences.

The most innovative and possibly the most important initiative however is the new pop center and rehearsal hotel in Oslo (right). The rehearsal hotel which opened in 2009 has 50 fully equipped rehearsal rooms (open 24/7) and one pre production room offered at a low rent on hourly basis, inspired by similar initiatives in New York and London.

Among those who have recognised Oslo as a music hub is Steve Van Zandt (Little Steven), who plays guitar with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. The first signing on his new record label Wicked Records is the phenomenal Oslo-based all-girl band Coctail Slippers.

Little Steven is thrilled: “I’m seeing a coming all-girl-band trend and it will be led by the Cocktail Slippers (right). They are the perfect role models for a new generation. They’re talented, they understand Rock and Roll is a craft and they work hard at it, and they never stop wanting to learn and improve. They’ve got soul and they’re the best.”

According to Little Steven: “Oslo has major music possibilities, but you only get one chance in this industry - and it has to work the first time”. He continues: “The working climate of Scandinavia allows people to explore their creativity – a positive balance that the city of Oslo has taken into account in their efforts to bring music into the creative lives of people living there. The roots of music are important – this is what motivates me, and this is where I see Oslo as potentially an important international music center”.

New careers are often kick-started at Bylarm. Acts to pay attention to are former lead singer in Briskeby Lise Karlsnes who makes her debut as solo artist at Bylarm, Ethiopian-born Asha Ali, and Anna von Hausswolff from Sweden; three distinct voices at this year's Bylarm.

Pulitzer Prize Nominated American Writer Deserves International Audience

Thomas Sullivan’s name first caught my attention in 1993 when singer-songwriter Glenn Frey dedicated his song “I’ve Got Mine” to Mr. Sullivan for using a phrase from his novel “The Phases of Harry Moon”. The song is on Glenn Frey’s album “Strange Weather” which is a lucid and thought-provoking description of life in L.A. in the 1990’s performed with Mr. Frey’s seldom romantic urgency and transparent sound.

Several years later as I was doing research for my study on the poetry of the Eagles, Mr. Sullivan’s name again surfaced on my radar screen after reading his column “CROSS LAKE, GLENN FREY & BREATHING THE SKY”. His universe of novels, short stories, blog columns and newsletters immediately caught my attention.

Mr. Sullivan’s seminal novel “The Phases of Harry Moon” (D.P.Hutton, 1988) is the story of Harry Moon, one of four eccentric brothers descending from Irish immigrants. The reader follows the youngest brother Harry Moon from his childhood, through college and marriage. It is the story of a husband and father marginalized and driven to extinction. It is written in a satiric style but I find the book not a bit light-hearted. The book is an unusual strong character study and digs deep into Harry Moons personality with elegance, wit and grace. It is original, intelligent and powerful.

“The Phases of Harry Moon” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and is said to have a cult following. I can easily understand why. It has a timeless quality and is highly recommended.

Following “The Phases of Harry Moon” Mr. Sullivan published a number of thrillers or horror books. I’ve had the chance to read “The Water Wolf” published in 2006. I’m not familiar with the genre and leave it to the experts to judge on the book’s genre-specific quality. Putting aside genre, reading it as a novel (something I always do), he clearly empowers also this story with craftsmanship, intelligence and intellectual range.

His short stories, some of them award-winning pieces, published in various magazines are unfortunately not easily available.

Mr. Sullivan's monthly blog columns on Storytellers Unplugged weblog are of special interest and amusement. Storytellers Unplugged is a collective of professional authors and creative professionals writing about the creative process and topics related to the creative lifestyle. In his columns Mr. Sullivan goes right to the heart of the matter. In his second column “WHO?” posted January 16th, 2006 he asks where the answers come to the questions you agonize over in front of the computer screen. His approach seems to be asking the question “Who am I?” The “Who”, according to Mr. Sullivan, is always a search within yourself.

In one of his earlier columns he introduces the idea that you can divide the purpose of language (and writing) into three areas: the language of emotions, the language of things and events, and the language of ideas. The careful reader will recognize these ideas in many of his subsequent blog posts, making his columns at Storytellers Unplugged coherent.

In the columns “The PERFECT SETUP, WRITING WITH LIZARDS, AND OTHER KEYS TO INSPIRATION” of August 16th, 2009 and “SEA LIONS IN COFFINS, GETTING LOST & WRITING WITHOUT WORDS” of December 16th, 2009 (to name just a few) he intelligently discusses issues such as creativity, motivation and inspiration.

In his column WHO’S THE STIFF, THE GANG OF 5 & AN ADAM ‘N’ EVE SLEEPING BAG of January 16th, 2010 he comes back to one of his other main themes namely that creativity is pointedly about excellence. According to Mr. Sullivan, it is only in pursuit of excellence that all our senses and sensibilities come fully alive and we breathe rarefied air once again.

His thoughts on creative writing, music as well as art in general are highly relevant and interesting, and his work is obviously of great inspiration to many people. Check out the large number of comments, many from creative artists themselves, posted on his Storyteller weblog. His essays and newsletters are simply very entertaining and inspirational to his readership.

His writings celebrate the individual and freedom. According to Thomas Sullivan, independence and individualism is most often synonymous with endurance in the art. And grassroots recognition more important to enduring acceptance than media hype.

Mr. Sullivan is obviously a man of high ethical standards. His work is transparent in the sense that self-honesty is a common thread in his work. His connectivity with nature adds to his literary composure. Nature is a prime resource for him and cross country skiing a religion.

Thomas Sullivan is a crossover author and his literary scope is wide. Often this represents a challenge in terms of market acceptance and commercial potential. In the case of Thomas Sullivan I think it’s an asset.

He elaborates on this himself in the Storytellers weblog column “MAKING LOVE or BETWEEN THE COVERS (of a book)” of April 15th, 2009. For Mr. Sullivan there are no choices; he must follow his conviction and write in whatever genre he must. It’s a question of honesty, to himself and in the long run to his readership. As he writes in his abovementioned column: “Not being true to yourself is being untrue to everything else”.

I would like to put forward a proposition to his publishers: publish a collection of his work (short stories and essays) in a coherent and innovative format and make it available internationally. A new edition of "The Phases of Harry Moon" is also long overdue. His fans all over the globe deserve it.

To learn more about Thomas Sullivan go to Thomas Sullivan's homepage and his columns at Storytellers Unplugged weblog.

This blog is under construction

This blog is under construction and I will post my first article shortly.