What first captivated you about the poetry of JPII?
It was because it was so very thought-provoking, not just on the level of the mind but regarding the soul’s search – not just for God, but for meaning, recognition, acceptance, peace … I didn’t even read whole poems at first, just a line or two - it quite literally had the effect, on me anyway, of knocking the wind out of my sails.
Why?
Thinking about it now I would say that this is poetry targeted at the ‘real self’ – and at the time I was very out of touch with authentic life. The world of poetry opened up to me when I was about 13 when I read a poem by Tennyson called Despair; this poem is a dramatic monologue that posits the question: What is God really like? Literally this poem got me into all poetry … So for me poetry and my spiritual search from the very beginning were absolutely connected.
How old where you?
I was about 14 when I found a copy of Easter Vigil by Karol Wojtyla in a charity shop. I was not a Christian at the time, so what prompted me to open a tatty book with the Pope waving from his popemobile, I really don’t know …From that time on I became interested in the artistic side of this man who was Pope and began to collect articles and newspaper clippings, (which I have to say never amounted to very much!) Today, as a non-Roman Catholic Christian I am genuinely amazed at what is either the lack of interest or awareness of Wojtyla’s artistic output.
What is unique or special about JP II’s poetry?
Even in translation it is excellent poetry, deeply religious and philosophical, but not at all devotional. One of the reasons it is unique, I think, is because it combines the intellect of a philosopher with the sensitivities of a poet who had a deeply contemplative, as well as religious life. It is a very rare combination.
Could you briefly explain his Rhapsodic Theatre technique?
Rhapsodic Theatre, or Theatre of the Living Word, was a distinctive form of theatre co-founded in Poland by Dr. Mieczyslaw Kotlarczyk and Karol Wojtyla in 1941. The central Rhapsodic principle is stated: “Word is the pre-element of theatre”; that means that word, as an expression of thought, is separated from action, in order to “transmit a vision of the mind.” Theatre is then “evoked from the word.” It is an abstract and intellectual theatrical vision that Wojtyla sets out in his The Collected Plays and Writing on Theatre (a very hard book to get hold of indeed!)
Wojtyla says in his essay On the Theater of the Word: “The problem acts … The impact of the performance is caused not by events, transferred in a literary manner from life to the stage, but by the problem itself.” His most well-known play The Jeweller’s Shop presents a problem devastating in its impact if no solution is found. I would state the problem like this: How can marriage be wanted or desirable if you have grown up a/ with only the ghost of a father or b/ within the ego-driven bitterness of parents in flight from themselves and the world? So problem-solving is central to the Rhapsodic method, and also a certain stylistic treatment is required in the absence of narrative structure and accompanying props - for example, the use of sound effects, visual effects, symbols on stage, mime, gesture (as absolutely key), dance, music and the device of the chorus.
One implication of the Rhapsodic method is that it opens up works not intended for the stage for production – poetry, novels, even works of philosophy. However, Wojtyla says that the crux of the matter in Rhapsodic Theatre is in relation to the man on stage - this man [actor] is “realising man” with the help of theatrical means.
How do you introduce people to it in the workshops?
The Place Within workshop introduces people to Wojyla’s poetry, giving them an opportunity to respond with reflections/poetry of their own. Each participant receives a 12-page booklet with poems grouped in themes: Passing Time, Prayer, Profile – of a biblical character, Profile – of a certain kind of person, Thought, Work, Communion, Meditation and Dialogues. Participants are free to respond to the poetry as they feel led, but in the Prayer section there are three exercises. The first exercise is a reflection question: What do I adore? This was to respond to Wojtyla’s lines from Song of the Hidden God.
I adore you, fragrant hay, because in you
no pride ripens as in ears of corn;
I adore you, fragrant hay, because you cuddled
a barefoot baby, manger-born.
no pride ripens as in ears of corn;
I adore you, fragrant hay, because you cuddled
a barefoot baby, manger-born.
I adore you, rough wood, because I find
no complaint in your fallen leaves;
I adore you, rough wood: you covered His shoulders
with blood-drenched twigs.
no complaint in your fallen leaves;
I adore you, rough wood: you covered His shoulders
with blood-drenched twigs.
The other exercises in the Prayer section are to identify a metaphor for the Lord’s work in your life and go on to write a prayer (in response to Wojtyla’s line – “The Lord taking root in the heart is a flower …” and to write two lines following Wojtyla’s statement “God you are so near …”
Much like the Rhapsodic method – I see problem-solving (or resolving) as central in Wojtyla’s poetry. For example, death, our deepest dilemma, needs to be accepted as an inevitable reality. Wojtyla writes in Song of a Hidden God / Shores of Silence (1944): “In such silence I hide, / A leaf released from the wind, / No longer anxious for the days that fall. / They must all fall, I know.” He tells the girl let down in love: “You think you are the centre of things. If only you could grasp that you are not. / The centre is He, / And He too finds no love - / Why don’t you see?” To the schizoid he says: “You must give heart space to your moments / Space to the pressure of will.” And to the Melancholic his advise is: “Push aside the terror of things to be done, / May a simple act be enough.”
One of the exercises I offer people is to think of advice to give to certain ‘kinds’ of people, or people with a particular dilemma.
What can people coming to your workshops expect to do?
Listen to a talk, reflect and discuss, interact with Wojtyla’s poetry through the booklet, and then share the results. It is always amazing what is revealed, and it really is not dependent at all on having any kind of writing skill – in this context, it is all about language and truth – not technique and craft. In fact, technique and craft may get in the way of the heart revealing itself.
However, I do always say that people are free not to have to write or share anything and use the time for their own reflection.
Tell me about your MA – please send the complete title.
The title of my MA was How can the poetry of Karol Wojtyla be used in a pastoral context? My MA was in Pastoral Theology, so I needed to link Wojtyla’s poetry to that subject. This was a real joy for me because I have worked for many years facilitating people expressing themselves through poetry in spirituality contexts – but I never thought of it as pastoral!
In the introduction of my dissertation I try to sum up what I feel the most important thing this study gave me, and it was getting translations done about Wojtyla’s literary output that unlocked this to me:
“[These] translations, taken as a whole, for me reveal Wojtyla in Polish consciousness. At the end of this study I am left with something I had no awareness of at the start - a strong sense of how much Western Christianity and culture would gain from apprehending Wojtyla the artist, as well as knowing him as the man who was Pope.”
What did you discover about JP 2’s theatre and drama through doing the MA?
I really did discover a great deal – though the body of academic work on Wojtyla’s poetry is very scant indeed. My main highlight was seeing how Wojtyla may be placed within the system of contemporary poetics.
The primary source material for my studies was Wojtyla’s poetry itself, his writing about Rhapsodic Theatre and his various addresses that include his thoughts about culture and art. Jerzy Peterkiewicz, Professor Dybciak and Boleslaw Taborski’s writings about Wojtyla’s poetry were invaluable, as they are seemingly the only people to have represented Wojtyla’s artistic thought to non-Polish speakers. Peterkiewicz, in particular, reveals the poet Cyprian Norwid as a key figure to understand Wojtyla’s writings in a literary context – this aspect was absolutely fascinating to draw out.
The other thing that I gained enormously from was seeing the Rhapsodic method as linking Wojtyla’s poetry and plays. And also, that just as Rhapsodic Theatre needs a certain stylistic treatment – so does ‘meditative’ or contemplative writing – certain devices are key for producing a certain effect (i.e contemplation) … Peterkiewicz (Wojtyla’s official poetry translator) said that meditative writing needs to use certain devices: “Meditation in poetry needs a stylistic treatment, which allows for reiteration, thought poised on thought, with sudden leaps into paradox. Cycles of poems seem to suit this kind of meditative writing.” You see this very clearly in Wojtyla’s poetry.
Dybciak said that Wojtyla’s poetry is “an appeal for spiritual development, a proposal for a beautiful dialogue of equal subjects.” This is a beautiful description of Wojtyla’s poetry that I found to be true.
What is your own background in terms of drama and poetry?
My own artistic background is writing poetry since a teenager, developing performing it with images and music, collaborating with other artists, working with the Roman Catholic Bard Sarah de Nordwall performing a monthly Poetry Theatre show in Covent Garden’s Poetry Café, and facilitating poetry workshops in many different contexts - from Cathedrals to prisons.
I have 3 books published – Psalm Readings (which is a simple technique to help people writer their own psalms), and two volumes of poetry The Cool of the Day and Love’s First Look. However, I should say by background in terms of study is Religious Studies and Theology!
http://scfordham.blogspot.com
Sarah Fordham, Feb 2012
