October 17, 1012, Martin of Gfenn gets fan mail!
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A conversation from Facebook, 6/1/2012
Martha Kennedy posts: Today a friend who is reading Martin of Gfenn said, "I don't get how a person as silly as you are wrote such a sad book."
"It's not sad."
"How is it not sad? This guy gets leprosy!"
"Yeah, so how is that sad?"
Must be me. ;-)
It seems to me that every life has sad stories. Sad stories don't make a life sad. I sometimes think back to AP English with the immortal Mrs. Zinn and learning about Greek tragedies and Aristotle's ideas that humans need catharsis, a consequence-less way to inspire pity and fear, and relieve the pressure of the pain of life. Art can help our lives be more bearable in the bad times by helping us see how great our lives really are. For example, who reads or sees Oedipus the King and doesn't think, "Wow. I'm so glad I never did MY mother and had to gouge MY eyes out. Now that's REALLY bad luck!"
So yes; I suppose Martin of Gfenn is a sad story, but still, I do not believe the protagonist is a sad man and that is the whole point.
Ginger Sickbert reponds: Martin finds his bliss... what he loves to do and can do excellently well; and he finds love in many ways. He develops strength of mind, enough so that he can counter the dogma of the religious around him... and yet can do it without being abusive or even uncivil. Wow. Seems like a pretty good life to me.
I have read this fable several times and find it is starting to live within me. I describe it as a fable because in spite of the scholarly work needed to present an understanding of the secular, religious and artistic life in 13th century Zurich and surroundings, it is primarily a picture of our human struggle to live, to love and to create while always aware of the brevity of life. Leprosy is the metaphor for this condition.
There is, of course, much sorrow here, but the sorrow is alleviated by the great beauty and clarity of the writing--especially in the many depictions of the beauty of the natural world and of the growth of love and understanding in the artist hero Martin. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Martha Kennedy, a terrific writer! Sarah Beynon, May, 2012
"Martin of Gfenn was an insightful novel of the human spiritual journey.
This well-crafted novel chronicles the 13th century artist, Martin, as
he struggles with perfecting his art, his understanding of God, and the
tragic disease of leprosy. Although Martin's story takes place almost
800 years ago, his journey is one that continues in humanity today. I
loved this novel and can't wait to read more from Martha Kennedy." Lois Maxwell, January, 2012
"
A conversation from Facebook, 6/1/2012
Martha Kennedy posts: Today a friend who is reading Martin of Gfenn said, "I don't get how a person as silly as you are wrote such a sad book."
"It's not sad."
"How is it not sad? This guy gets leprosy!"
"Yeah, so how is that sad?"
Must be me. ;-)
It seems to me that every life has sad stories. Sad stories don't make a life sad. I sometimes think back to AP English with the immortal Mrs. Zinn and learning about Greek tragedies and Aristotle's ideas that humans need catharsis, a consequence-less way to inspire pity and fear, and relieve the pressure of the pain of life. Art can help our lives be more bearable in the bad times by helping us see how great our lives really are. For example, who reads or sees Oedipus the King and doesn't think, "Wow. I'm so glad I never did MY mother and had to gouge MY eyes out. Now that's REALLY bad luck!"
So yes; I suppose Martin of Gfenn is a sad story, but still, I do not believe the protagonist is a sad man and that is the whole point.
Ginger Sickbert reponds: Martin finds his bliss... what he loves to do and can do excellently well; and he finds love in many ways. He develops strength of mind, enough so that he can counter the dogma of the religious around him... and yet can do it without being abusive or even uncivil. Wow. Seems like a pretty good life to me.
I have read this fable several times and find it is starting to live within me. I describe it as a fable because in spite of the scholarly work needed to present an understanding of the secular, religious and artistic life in 13th century Zurich and surroundings, it is primarily a picture of our human struggle to live, to love and to create while always aware of the brevity of life. Leprosy is the metaphor for this condition.
There is, of course, much sorrow here, but the sorrow is alleviated by the great beauty and clarity of the writing--especially in the many depictions of the beauty of the natural world and of the growth of love and understanding in the artist hero Martin. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Martha Kennedy, a terrific writer! Sarah Beynon, May, 2012
"Thank you for the book. I'm reading it now. It's holding my interest and making me wish to return to it again...what a lot of research you must have had to do...am really so amazed at what a labor of love, skill, research and inspiration it is...Martha, I really liked it a lot. I finished it days ago and was sorry that it ended so soon, but I was greedy and didn't ration it. It is wonderful." Flame Schon, November, 2011
“Some
thoughts reading your chapters which are still very thrilling. We would
call it an artist novel about an artist whose work is growing more
perfect each day while he, himself, is increasingly decomposing from
leprosy -- a truly ingenious idea!” Rainer Hugener, Historian, Zurich, 2005
Reader: "I'm LOVING your book...how to you pronounce Gfenn? (G silent??) Anytime I think about a book even when I'm not actually reading it at the time, like on my hike today, I know it is making an impression on me." Nile Johnson
Martin of Gfenn: “Fen” -- and it means the same thing in English, marsh, swamp. Cool word, isn't it! ...and I'm very happy you like the book!
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