The Words reached deep inside him and he felt his bowels moved, his entrails plucked by their ravenous splendour of language - an English that was no more.
Lawrence Durrell - Constance (1982) - Chapter 14
This quote from Larry Durrell describes the reaction of his character Blanford as he hears a recitation of Psalm 23, which is better known by its famous first words: The Lord is My Shepherd.
The full text of the Psalm (in the King James version) is set out at the end of this post.
The reaction Durrell describes is the precise reaction that I seek to provoke in readers by my own scripture-derived style that I call Hypnogogic Prose.
My hope is that this particular style of language - when married to the deepest human themes - might bypass the reader's critical mind and provoke profound emotional or visceral reactions, allowing them a deeper experience of the tragedy and beauty depicted in the text.
One part of my technique is to set actual fragments of scripture in new settings or unfamiliar contexts. So in the first book of From the Chronicles of Lupa I twist some of the actual language of Psalm 23 to describe the exploits of Lupa:
You call them wolves, and they rejoice in that name, as they hunt you in packs in the terrible depths of night upon the Earth. The Just shall have no fear, but you who walk in the valley of the shadow of death, you should hear these words and tremble. [c.f Psalm 23:4]
I do have some doubts about the effectiveness of Hyp Prose.
My major doubt is whether the effect that it has on me - which is deeply hypnogogic - will be replicated in other people.
Part is the problem is that as with scripture, repetition and familiarity reinforces the hypnogogic effect. It seems a bit unreasonable to ask my (currently) very small readership to read my works again and again, on the promise of deeper engagement with their emotions.
My best guess (and my deep human intuition) is that on that very deep level all of us are essentially the same, so that what moves me deeply will move many other people. Quotes like this one from Durrell [and quotes previously posted on this blog, such as this one from Jack Kerouac] give me confidence that I may be on the right path.
Until I get some kind of real readership it is impossible to say one way or the other. However I do believe strongly that this project is well worth the attempt, and if I have missed the mark with my current works then I might hit it with my further attempts.
P. Julian
22 July 2018
Psalm 23
(A Psalm of David)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
[Psalm 23 - King James Version - Copyright is in the Public Domain]
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