jeremy fernando
Contributors
Description
So yes, this were a necessary piece for me to write.
Not to take control of the narrative: for, I neither believe in there being only one version of any story, despite what dictators would prefer; nor in control, another fiction people who give themselves titles aplenty like to hold on to.
But in order to respond to violence with art.
With all the risks of being accused - ah, hello again, old friend - of being accused of artem, of artifice.
So I shall write, with my kind of writing.
At the risk of being accused of writing itself - that taking down, inscribing, recording, taking note, is nothing more than a deferral, a refusal to remember me.
So, a writing to forget.
Perhaps.
Though it is not as if one can decide what one forgets, that one can will forgetting: if we could, we might all finally be happy. But we might just have to leave that to happenstance, chance, maybe even to Tykhe herself.
In the meantime, all I can say is: quod scripsi, scripsi.
Responses
Your writing emerges from a body, struggling to break through the skin, that thin membrane between the inside and the outside. The dialogue with others — almost like receiving bullets, throwing bullets, throwing flowers, receiving caresses. All at once.
~ Gabriela Golder
A magnificent book on art, on reading, and on personal experiences of violence and injustice. Perhaps violence and injustice always call out for words – but Fernando's words are not found in any of the usual and predictable places – in fixed answers, corrections or retaliations – but in a singular and beautiful grammar of freedom. The text escapes all the snares of advice, doctrine, and easy morals. It doesn't belong to any established order – and this makes it so very significant, moving, and meaningful.