Literature – a spoken art?
Posted 29 January 2014 by Petronella van Dijk
Petronella van Dijk, member of the steering committee for the National Forum on the Literary Arts. (Photo:
André Roy.
)
Yes, of course it is. Remember: while the book as we know it has existed for some 5 centuries and writing for 5 millennia, stories have been around for much longer. In fact, they’ve been around ever since human beings, dismayed by the immensity of the void, began conjuring in their fertile imaginations tales to help make sense of our humanity (myths, sagas, tales, poetry). These stories – the ones that remain in our subconscious in the 21st century, no matter where we are on this earth – are what we call oral literature.
Another reminder: among the tales that “everyone” knows is A Thousand and One Nights. In our contemporary, literate minds, it represents 3000 pages, in 3 or 4 volumes, depending on the edition. However, these anonymous tales, as varied as they are different, circulated orally for more than 5 centuries before being recorded in written form.
In cultures of oral tradition, poetry jousts were common and you could say that they live on in today in the form of poetry slams. In fact, here in Quebec we can boast two (young) world champions in this category.
Storytelling evenings and events are numerous in Canada, from Vancouver to St. John’s, to the Far North – as are, in recent years, readings featuring some of the great actors of the francophone world: Fabrice Lucchini, Philippe Noiret, Jean-Louis Trintignant...
But why the spoken word when we can get cozy in our favourite armchair with the best books of the season? Well, because the spoken word, besides having value in its own right, can be a marvelous complement to books. It can say what the written word cannot (thanks to the voice, the gaze and the body, which also speaks, sometimes without being asked). And it offers an encounter – the immediacy of “being present,” of human connection that remains an essential ingredient of life and survival.
A tale can be told in two ways: in writing or in speech. When it is created in speech (with or without the written word), during the “here and now” of a performance, it has the fragility of the ephemeral. This is also what gives it its power, charm and effectiveness, inasmuch as the public is present for the performance. For when this energy is shared, mutual and reciprocal, magic occurs and the tale, in coming alive, becomes a “work.”
The same goes for poetry, readings or other types of performance that highlight the tale via speech – as faithful audiences at the Festival de la poésie de Trois-Rivières or the FIL can attest. This type of encounter with the artists brings a unique value to the tale that is very different from that of the book – and a plus for literature.
The contribution made by the spoken word arts to the Canadian literary landscape is eminently precious, and most certainly adds to its richness in allowing artists of diverse talents to share a common passion.
About the Author: Petronella van Dijk
Petronella van Dijk is a member of the steering committee for the National Forum on the Literary Arts, to be held in Montréal, February 14-15, 2014. She has been involved in the storytelling community for 20 years as an organizer, educator and director of dissemination. She founded and directed the storytelling festival in Estrie, Quebec, was director of Productions Littorale and has been member and chair of the board of the Regroupement du conte au Québec. For the past 12 years she has been telling stories in Quebec, Canada and Europe.