This photo, along with hundreds of others R J Dent has taken over the years, can be seen on his ViewBug portfolio, available here: https://www.viewbug.com/member/R-J-Dent
As a writer/translator, R J Dent has written, translated or contributed to 23 books. Details of those books can be found here: http://www.rjdent.com/ and here: https://rjdentnewsandevents.wordpress.com/
Isidore Ducasse (1846-1870), better known by his pen name Comte de Lautréamont, is the most influential writer most people have never heard of. Maldoror, the first of his two works, has been described as the most evil book ever written. It has also been described as the funniest. Either way, it provides some of the most gorgeous, twisty, weird sentences in any language.
An inspiration to the Surrealists, post-colonial Caribbean writers, and the Situationists to name a few, Lautréamont still garners a following today. In The Celestial Bandit, editor Jordan A. Rothacker brings together twenty-four contemporary artists from music, visual arts, and the writing world to pay tribute to this unique and exciting influence. Poetry, essays, short stories, experimental texts, and a dictionary of disruptive neologisms, this anthology has it all.
Contributing authors and artists include: Mark Amerika, Louis Armand, R J Dent, Seb Doubinsky, Steve Finbow, Chris Kelso, Callum Leckie, Golnoosh Nour, Jeremy Reed and Audrey Szasz, amongst others.
All profits from the sales of The Celestial Bandit will be donated to Surfrider Foundation for their efforts to protect our oceans that Ducasse loved so much.
Book details and purchase link here: http://www.rjdent.com/the-celestial-bandit-a-tribute-to-isidore-ducasse-the-comte-de-lautreamont-edited-by-jordan-a-rothacker/
Purchase link here: http://www.kernpunktpress.com/store/p29/celestialbandit.html
The Celestial Bandit is a 175th Anniversary Tribute to Isidore Ducasse, the Comte de Lautréamont, edited by Jordan A. Rothacker.
Isidore Ducasse (1846-1870), better known by his pen name Le Comte de Lautréamont, is the most influential writer most people have never heard of. Maldoror, the first of his two works, has been described as the most evil book ever written. It has also been described as the funniest book ever written. Either way, it provides some of the most gorgeous, twisted, weird sentences in any language.
An inspiration to the Surrealists, the Situationists, and to post-colonial Caribbean writers, to name a few, Lautréamont still garners a following today. In The Celestial Bandit, editor Jordan A. Rothacker brings together twenty-four contemporary artists from music, visual arts, and the writing world to pay tribute to this unique and exciting influence. Poetry, essays, short stories, experimental texts, and a dictionary of disruptive neologisms, this anthology has it all.
All profits from the sales of The Celestial Bandit will be donated to Surfrider Foundation for their efforts to protect our oceans that Ducasse loved so much.
The Celestial Bandit includes work by a diverse range of authors and artists including: Mark Amerika, Louis Armand, Ben Arzate, duncan b. barlow, Tosh Berman, R J Dent, Douglas Doornbos, Seb Doubinsky, Steve Finbow, Stewart Home, Chris Kelso, Faisal Khan, Dylan Krieger, Callum Leckie, Chris Lloyd, Alexis Lykiard, Jennifer Macbain-Stephens, Christopher Nelms, Golnoosh Nour, David Leo Rice, Jeremy Reed, John Reed, James Reich, & Audrey Szasz.
The Celestial Bandit is available to buy from KERNPUNKT Press at: http://www.kernpunktpress.com/store/p29/celestialbandit.html
The Tiger
Tiger tiger burning bright
In the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes
On what wings dared he aspire
What the hand dared seize the fire
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart
Did he smile his work to see
Did he who made the lamb make thee
Tiger tiger burning bright
In the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Dared frame thy fearful symmetry
Robert Graves
Even the most cursory glance will reveal some fundamental differences between the above two poems. Graves’ rewrite came about due to a number of flaws he felt existed in Blake’s poem. He writes of these in ‘Tyger, Tyger’, an essay collected in The Crane Bag and Other Disputed Subjects. In the essay, Graves is particularly scathing of Blake’s tendency to mix his tenses, remain ‘imprecise and ambiguous’, ‘grammatically incoherent’ and to not care about the rhetorical focus of the poem.
More importantly, however, Graves neglects at any time to mention that he has ‘made his own arrangement of The Tyger’. After interviewing Graves, Christopher Burstall claims that Graves’ ‘arrangement’ includes ‘cutting out two verses and putting the whole poem in the past tense’, so that it is grammatically correct and more structurally cohesive. Read more…
A Collaboration of Unlike Minds: Robert Graves’ and William Blake’s The Tyger
Copyright © R J Dent (2007 & 2016)
Follow R J Dent’s work on:
website: http://www.rjdent.com/
amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/R.-J.-Dent/e/B0034Q3RD4
blog: https://rjdent.wordpress.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/RJDent
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjdentwriter
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rjdent69
Voodoo Excess
(Rolling with the Stones)
by Jeremy Reed
with an introduction by R J Dent
Voodoo Excess, Jeremy Reed’s latest collection, is a history of the Rolling Stones in verse, prose and prose-poetry.
In Voodoo Excess, Jeremy Reed chronicles the Stones’ progress from the early days at the Crawdaddy Club in 1962 to the fiftieth anniversary in 2012; he explicates Mick Jagger’s dance steps and his accent; he examines the Rolling Stones’ logo; and the different ways Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood angle their cigarettes; he describes the emotional impact of the Stones’ Hyde Park performance; he details the Redlands bust and the anti-establishment stance and attitude of the band; and he looks unflinchingly at the violence of Altamont and the inevitable death of the summer of love.
Voodoo Excess is far more than a Rolling Stones biography and it is far more than a collection of Rolling Stones-themed poems and prose-poems – what Jeremy Reed has achieved with Voodoo Excess is to provide an incredibly in-depth, up-close and intimate chronicle of the life and times of a group of musicians who have – for fifty years – collectively and individually continued to define the term ‘rock and roll rebels’.
Product details:
Title: Voodoo Excess
Author: Jeremy Reed
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224 pages
Publisher: Enitharmon Press
Published: 12 June 2015
ISBN-10: 1907587500
ISBN-13: 978-1907587504
Contents
INTRODUCTION: The Rolling Stones and Jeremy Reed (by R J Dent)
PART 1 – THE GREATEST ROCK AND ROLL BAND IN THE WORLD
PART 2 – THE BRIAN JONES YEARS: 1962–1969
PART 3 – THE MICK TAYLOR YEARS: 1969–74
PART 4 – MEMORABILIA/BONUS MATERIAL
PART 5 – THE RONNIE WOOD YEARS: 1975–
Voodoo Excess is available at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Voodoo-Excess-Jeremy-Reed/dp/1907587500
and at:
http://www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Excess-Jeremy-Reed/dp/1907587500
and at:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/voodoo-excess/jeremy-reed/9781907587504
Follow Jeremy Reed’s work on http://www.jeremyreed.co.uk/
Follow R J Dent’s work on:
Website: http://www.rjdent.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/R.-J.-Dent/e/B0034Q3RD4
Blog: https://rjdent.wordpress.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/RJDent
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjdentwriter
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rjdent69
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-j-dent-29a8a724?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
SADE: SEX and DEATH
The Divine Marquis and the Surrealists
Edited by Candice Black
Cover Art: René Magritte – La Gâcheuse (The Bungler) 1935
Translated into English by R J Dent
“SADE IS SURREALIST IN SADISM”
André Breton, Surrealist Manifesto (1924)
The Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), best known for his violent, erotic novels, such as 120 Days of Sodom and Justine, was also one of the key inspirational figures identified by André Breton in his Surrealist Manifestos. De Sade’s importance to the Surrealists and their close affiliates is reflected in the sheer volume of art and writing dedicated to, or inspired by, his life, philosophy, and writings. Sade documents this body of Surrealist work, including many key texts and bizarre and erotic images never before assembled in one volume. Included in Sade: Sex and Death are more than fifty rarely seen transgressive illustrations by some of the most famous names associated with Surrealism, including Dalí, Hans Bellmer, Magritte, André Masson, and Man Ray. The book also features analytical texts by writers of the period such as Bataille, Breton, Bunuel, Eluard, and Klossowski.
Also included is the first-ever English translation (by R J Dent) of ‘The Divine Marquis’ by Guillaume Apollinaire, which was the first modernist appraisal of Sade and remains one of the best concise biographies of its subject, and “Sade and the Roman Noir” by scholar Maurice Heine, in which Heine posits Sade as inventor of the gothic novel. Putting the works in context is an extensive history by Candice Black that details the relationship between the Surrealists and Sade.
The Marquis de Sade was one of the key figures identified by André Breton in his Surrealist Manifestos as inspirational to the whole Surrealist movement. Sade’s importance to the Surrealists and their close affiliates is reflected in the sheer volume of their art and writing dedicated to, or inspired by, his life, philosophy and work.
Sade: Sex and Death documents this body of work, and features many key texts as well as a host of bizarre and erotic Surrealist images never before assembled in one volume.
Including texts, paintings, photography and drawings by: Guillaume Apollinaire, Georges Bataille, Hans Bellmer, André Breton, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dalí, Robert Desnos , Paul Eluard, Max Ernst, Leonor Fini, Maurice Heine, Valentine Hugo, Pierre Klossowski, Felix Labisse, René Magritte, André Masson, Roberto Matta, Man Ray, Toyen, Clovis Trouille and others.
CONTENTS
Candice Black: Sade and Surrealism: An Illustrated History
Guillaume Apollinaire: The Divine Marquis (Trans. R J Dent)
Georges Bataille: The Use Value of De Sade (Trans. Allan Stoekl)
Maurice Heine: De Sade and the Gothic Novel (Trans. R J Dent)
Pierre Klossowski: A Destructive Philosophy
Andre Masson: Notes on the Sadistic Imagination (Trans. R J Dent)
Paul Eluard: Sade: A Revolutionary Intelligence (Trans. R J Dent)
SOLAR EROTIK ARCHIVE:
SADE: SEX and DEATH
The Divine Marquis and the Surrealists
Edited by Candice Black
Translated into English by R J Dent
ISBN-13: 978-0-9820464-9-4
Available from:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sade-Divine-Marquis-Surrealists-Archive/dp/0982046499
http://www.amazon.com/Sade-Divine-Marquis-Surrealists-Archive/dp/0982046499
http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/S/bo11334062.html
http://www.solarbooks.org/solar-titles/sadesexanddeath.html
R J Dent’s article on plagiarism – based on a real incident.
Plagiarism may be a dirty word, but there’s always someone ready to steal it…
(Note: The names of the musicians, groups and albums in this article have been changed in order to avoid anyone being libeled.)
It’s every writer’s dream: the brilliant and famous singer of the world’s greatest group gets in touch with you and says: “We’re writing a new album, so can you help us with the lyrics?” You’ve started to make a bit of a name for yourself with your writing, so you graciously accept the offer, and within a year you are fully valued, recognized and rewarded (artistically, philosophically, spiritually, socially and financially) for your ability to write perfect and succinct lyrics on important subjects.
That’s the summary of a dream of many aspiring poets/lyricists.
That’s nothing like the version that happened to me.
First of all, it wasn’t anywhere grand, like backstage at the O2 Arena, Earl’s Court, or even the MAN for that matter. No, this was an introduction by a friend in a café. Read more...
R J Dent says: ‘Credit Where Credit’s Due is a cautionary tale, based on a real event.’
Credit Where Credit’s Due was recently published in Writer’s Muse.
Credit Where Credit’s Due
Copyright © R J Dent (2010 & 2016)
Follow R J Dent’s work on:
Website: http://www.rjdent.com/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/R.-J.-Dent/e/B0034Q3RD4
Blog: https://rjdent.wordpress.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/RJDent
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjdentwriter
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rjdent69
My title refers to a small group of people who, here on Hawaii, dive for ‘King Pearls’. These rare pearls are a bluish-grey colour and are about twice the size and value of the largest one on your Auntie Winnie’s favourite pearl necklace. Last year, oceanographers predicted that the king pearl oysters would settle in the territorial waters of Hawaii in December, ready to be harvested at the beginning of this year. January in Hawaii is hot.
I arranged an interview with one of the King Pearl divers. Despite my reservations, it was scheduled to take place on a desolate beach at an ungodly hour of the morning. I arrived early, sat and watched the sunrise, then saw my interviewee arrive. He was Lukie, a 19 year old who had been a King Pearl diver since he was 10. Although he had agreed to the interview, I noticed that he was, at first, slightly reticent. When I asked him if this was because of pre-dive nerves, his face broke into a huge grin and he suddenly looked ten years old again.
“There’s no such thing,” he said. Sometimes, when particularly animated, he managed to look very young. At other times, especially when talking about some of the other King Pearl divers, he seemed to age by about twenty years. I asked him what the attraction of diving for the King Pearls held for him. Read more…
The King Pearl Divers
Copyright © R J Dent (2009 & 2016)
Painting: The Pearl Diver by Carol UK
Copyright © www.caroluk.org/gallery/page148.html
Follow R J Dent’s work on:
website: http://www.rjdent.com/
amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/R.-J.-Dent/e/B0034Q3RD4
blog: https://rjdent.wordpress.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/RJDent
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjdentwriter
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rjdent69
A brief look at the history of the short story
Traditionally, the short story is a fictional prose tale of non-specified length, although a story of more than 20,000 words is usually considered to be a novella, a novelette or a short novel. The short story is generally too short to be published as a volume on its own, as in the case of the novel or the play. Dramatically, the short story usually concentrates on a single event involving only one or two characters. Here then, is a brief history of the beginnings of the short story as a recognized literary form.
The world’s oldest extant short story is Chabuki Yun’s Hop Ten Yato, usually translated as Green Tea. This 5000 word Chinese folk story is believed to have been written by Chabuki in 1100BC. Green Tea concerns itself with the meetings which take place between a princess and a Genji. The steam of the green tea of the title is the medium by which the Genji visits the princess and informs her of other-worldly realms. The princess grows weary of her day-to-day existence and of her Earth-bound form and decides to leave them behind.
“There is still so much to be done. Things cannot continue as they are for much longer. This world of ours must change!” Princess Hitami paused, and then announced: “No! We must change!” Read more…
R J Dent says: ‘The Short Story is an experiment. It’s an essay about the short story that just happens to be a short story; it’s a fiction in the form of an essay (a fictional essay), or it’s a non-fiction short story. It’s a hybrid form of writing – part essay/part short story. I wanted to push fiction to its limit, to lower the threshold to the floor in terms of what can be done with the short story form. My initial idea was to write a history of the short story – and to make the whole thing fictional, with the appearance of it being factual – which is why I used the essay form as the mode of presentation. Readers generally accept the essay – the most fictional form of writing – as the most factual; the most truthful; the most non-fictional. I thought I’d use that acceptance to tell a story.’
Follow R J Dent’s work on:
website: http://www.rjdent.com/
amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/R.-J.-Dent/e/B0034Q3RD4
blog: https://rjdent.wordpress.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/RJDent
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjdentwriter
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rjdent69
R J Dent 
An Untitled Piece of Writing by R J Dent
April 4, 2016Text:
Huh nee… mm mm… ow ryu…hrn ee… yeh… mm hm… mtu… ths gd… wzs tht thn… bh cs… mmm… i fl lk… mm mm… skn… lkn… fkn… yr ck… yd oo dyr… ys iyd oo… wl i fl lk lkn… skn… fkn… yr cn t… du yu rly… yr id oo… mm… ino… hm hm… yu wn tha… ym mm… oh… an tha… mmm… ye ye… oka… thn dw tha… ohh… fme… yeh… mmm… thas fkn byu tfl… oh… oh oh… ye… ye… yeh… jee sus… yr fkn lv lee… ah… nd yr fkn lv lee tu… ah… tk dty tu me… hwd ym een… kmon y no… dty wds… tht srt oth ng… oka… bnd ovr bch… oh… oka… nw gwon… sprd m wd… oh… f me… mm mm… gw on bby… pt yr fce thr… mm mm… thas t… stk yr tng rt upt… ths t… o yh… gwon… lkit… hrd… ye ye… o… ye… dwit fm ee… sy mr dty wds… whl i sk yu… yu va lvl ee cnt… a byu tfl… lv lee… tst ee cnt… o… ar… yss… sy mr… cll m… nms… y slt… ah yss… mr… y byu tfl fkn lvl ee chp sl te hr… o yss… ths it… n ow… rm tn… yra… byu tfl… fkn bch… hhh… ng… gg… cl me a byu tfl hr gn… yu byu tfl fkn hr… lv lee… lv yu… lv yr boh dee… suh byu tfl… hr… oh ye… oh yeh… k moh vrm ee… k minm ee… ths it…. yeh o… ah… oh… ah… oh… yss… ll vu… gv… it… t… me… hrd… slm tn… aa… aa… ys… fk… fk… ah… fk hrd rr… ys… ys… fk m… fk m… ohh hhh… yssss… hg gh… hh hg gh… yaa… yaa… hg… gh… fr… haaa… huhu… hu… yehh… mmm hmm… hmm mmm… yu ka ym… mm… me tu…
Commentary:
And so, if you should happen to find writing of the type that is taking up the space above these expositional lines, examine it carefully for what sort of text it might be – and what it might be doing. Does it have a purpose? A meaning? Are there any messages in it? Is it of any practical use? Do we learn anything from it? Is it English (Standard, I mean)? Does it conform to the grammatical and lexical rules we all know so well? If not, why not? Read more…
An Untitled Piece of Writing
Copyright © R J Dent (2016)
Follow R J Dent’s work on:
website: http://www.rjdent.com/
blog: https://rjdent.wordpress.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/RJDent
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjdentwriter
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rjdent69
Tags:code, commentary, Erotica, R J Dent, R J Dent's essays, R J Dent's fiction, R J Dent's short stories, textual analysis, untitled writing
Posted in English Fiction, R J Dent's essays, R J Dent's short stories | Leave a Comment »