Literature as music
What do we know about the mark on the wall, Second Edition is now out. For purchase details please go to;
http://puffcom.blogspot.com/2009/07/one-stop-shp-julyn-09.html
A recent review suggests musical aspects in the work. And a recent review of music talks about books. One might wonder what Virginia Woolf would have thought about this but the literature review is followed by the musical review.
Paul Moon in his review of What do we know about the mark on the wall, Second Edition says;
The next book in this collection is the 197-page What do we know about the mark on the wall? Images, rules and prior knowledge. As for its subject, Cleave opens with the teasing line: ‘As the author I still have difficulty saying what his book is about’. But rather than answer with a pithy summary, Cleave allows the ideas contained in this work to speak for themselves – no more, no less. Themes about the meaning of ideas, place, and memory compete with topics on historiography, sociolinguistics, and social geography, among many others. This is probably the most challenging book in the collection. Cleave moves, sometimes with great speed, from one topic to another, often leaving just hints of whole new areas of potential exploration. The reader might feel settled with an idea, and then in the next paragraph, Cleave might challenge that idea from several angles, before hauling the topic elsewhere, with a series of careful thematic links. There is no stated topic for this book, and nor ought there to be. It is like a rhapsody, with different motifs surfacing at various points, connected by very little at times, yet, at the conclusion, it all seems to have a link of sorts to the idea of knowledge. This is possibly one of the most satisfying yet challenging works in the collection.
Moon's review of the Ten Volume set follows;
Book Review
By Paul Moon
July 2009
The very nature of academic publishing is that it serves a niche market, and in a country as small as New Zealand, that niche can be so narrow that some books probably never see the light of day because they are simply uneconomic to produce. So when a ten-volume set of books is released, written by Professor Peter Cleave – one of New Zealand’s respected academics – attention is bound to be aroused by the scale of the venture, and by the promise of a substantial body of content.
The work’s opening volume comprises a collection of articles, some of which are new, and some of which are revised versions of existing articles that Cleave has written or presented. The relevancy of the work is underscored by the first paper, which contains suggested options for dealing with the vexed issue of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004. The Government has indicated that it will reach some conclusions on this matter within the next two months, but regardless of what is decided, it will be interesting to see the extent to which Cleave’s recommendations are reflected in Government policy, and for academics to debate some of the themes raised long after any settlement has been made at a political level. This article stands out as being the most detailed in this volume, and certainly one of the most well-conceived discussions of the present state of the Act that exists in print anywhere. For this piece alone, the first volume in this collection makes an extremely useful contribution not only to academic discourse, but to issues affecting the national life of the country.
Other articles in this volume focus on issues surrounding Maori language – its survival, its transition from an oral to a written language, and its re-emergence as an oral and written language. To this is added a highly original and possibly even provocative piece on conceptual interpretations of pa; a reflection on issues associated with the 1981 Springbok rugby tour to New Zealand, and concludes with a series of brief but brilliant articles which tackle a variety of culturally-charged concepts, and which, among much else, challenge the reader’s understanding of meanings associated with them.
From a collection of articles, Cleave then provides in the second volume of this collection a book. Starting points? A discussion of contemporary Maori society and culture, is primarily about New Zealand historiography, into which is injected a broad range of arguments and perspectives relating to issues such as culture, identity, tradition and modernity, and the media. One of the great strengths of this volume is the extent to which Cleave is able to draw on international material and examples to illuminate his arguments, without the reader ever getting the sense that he is being overwhelmed by comparative examples from other countries. It is a difficult balance to establish, but when handled as masterfully as in Starting Points? The benefits are immediately apparent. The theme of literacy raised in the first volume reappears briefly in this one, but in a substantially different context, with a strong connection with the way in which history works in cultures that had/have strong oral components. In the central sections of this volume is a series of analyses of the works of other writers, in which Cleave adopts the format of quoting passages from articles, and then providing a commentary on them. This is an approach to criticism that is too seldom utilised. In the case of this volume, it has enabled Cleave to deconstruct and then reconstruct ideas and themes, using these sources as interchangeable building blocks – able to be assembled in a variety of forms according to the writer’s perspectives.
Following on from Starting Points? is the third edition of one of Cleave’s seminal works: Rangahau pae iti kahurangi: Research in a small world of light and shade. This work, on themes and approaches to research in a broadly Maori context, has become a recommended text book for many tertiary course around the country, and draws heavily on traditional concepts of learning and understanding as part of the basis for one of the frameworks of research. The traditional is not closed off from critique, however, and Cleave’s great strength in this area is his ability to combine an in-depth cultural knowledge with recent scholarship on research, producing insightful and useful conclusions for anyone engaged in this area of study.
Another third edition in this collection is Papers on Social Work. His volume is made up of seven papers dealing with subjects from the more standard ones, such as ethics, to the some unlikely choices, such as the city space and social work, and the thematically-related article on places of inquiry. Yet, whether predictable or otherwise, Cleave brings new insights and challenging perspectives to the reader. Even the most experienced social work practitioner would be bound to have the perceptions of their profession augmented as a result of reading this book and absorbing some of its ideas.
Papers on Social Work is followed by the 244-page volume Papers on Language. Made up of thirteen articles, this work has Cleave again drawing on a useful quantity of international scholarship, and revealing why he is so highly-regarded in the academic community. There are too few writers in this country capable of combining material from so many different disciplines and in a way that produces such a wide variety of perspectives. Again, there is some material here that appears elsewhere, but its precise employment this volume avoids any sense of repetition. A few of the shorter articles in this volume would be suited mainly for teachers of te reo, but otherwise, the tenor of the works as a whole is well-suited to the general academic reader.
The next book in this collection is the 197-page What do we know about the mark on the wall? Images, rules and prior knowledge. As for its subject, Cleave opens with the teasing line: ‘As the author I still have difficulty saying what his book is about’. But rather than answer with a pithy summary, Cleave allows the ideas contained in this work to speak for themselves – no more, no less. Themes about the meaning of ideas, place, and memory compete with topics on historiography, sociolinguistics, and social geography, among many others. This is probably the most challenging book in the collection. Cleave moves, sometimes with great speed, from one topic to another, often leaving just hints of whole new areas of potential exploration. The reader might feel settled with an idea, and then in the next paragraph, Cleave might challenge that idea from several angles, before hauling the topic elsewhere, with a series of careful thematic links. There is no stated topic for this book, and nor ought there to be. It is like a rhapsody, with different motifs surfacing at various points, connected by very little at times, yet, at the conclusion, it all seems to have a link of sorts to the idea of knowledge. This is possibly one of the most satisfying yet challenging works in the collection.
Te Pu Tapere- the impulse to perform, formerly known as Depot Takirua, is the third edition of this work, and focuses mainly on the electronic media. At 204 pages, it is as substantial a work as any of its companion volumes in this collection, and for those studying film and television in New Zealand, it would be indispensible. This most certainly ought to be a prescribed text for all media students. The portrayal of Maori in film and television comes in for close scrutiny here, and Cleave seizes on several deficiencies and stereotypes in the way culture is presented in popular culture. The chapter on Jane Campion’s The Piano is one of the outstanding portions of this book, and as all the other chapters, offers insights that hitherto have not been available to readers interested in these areas of study. Some of the essays in this work date back to the 1990s, but have been revised where appropriate to maintain their currency.
Iwi Station: A Discussion of Print, Radio, Television, and the Internet in Aotearoa/ New Zealand also has a string media focus, as the title suggests. However, in keeping with the general approach of the other volumes in this collection, Cleave has added elements of history, sociology, and anthropology into the mix. And instead of merely being descriptive about the topics he has chosen, Cleave continually probes and questions to elicit deeper meanings behind them. This is most certainly a text that should be compulsory reading for every journalist and person involved in the media in New Zealand. In particular, it lifts the lid on the sorts of conceptual developments in thought that have led to the status the media currently has in New Zealand.
This collection, coming out as a single set, is unique in New Zealand academic writing. But the format and quantity side, the lasting value of these works is in the ideas they express and the changes in perception that they will bring about for the reader. Cleave deserves full praise for the contribution he has made in these works to the intellectual conversation about New Zealandness.
Paul Moon is Professor of History at Te Ara Poutama, the faculty of Maori Development at AUT University.
The Tribune, Sunday August 16th
It’s Cleave, live once more
By Judith Lacy
Palmerston North singer-songwrtiter Peter Cleave is stepping out from the computer screen to perform live again.
A chance encounter with a customer in Taylor-Jensen Fine Arts has seen him do two gigs at the gallery with a third to come later this month.
His set is mostly folk blues originals such as ‘nonsense song’ Idol which is popular on Youtube.
Some of Idol’s lyrics;
Way on down the hall Uncle Phil is asleep
You whisper to me about Dragon BallZ
And the Idol smiles
There is a door/window in the wall
The traffic stops and the rain begins to fall
Another of Cleave’s songs has more serious origins. Fascinated with anorexia-a ‘phenomenon of affluence’- he was part way through writing a song about the illness when long-time friend and Wellington street performer Sally Rodwell died suddenly. You’re Free became a song for her too.
You threw a stone into the sun, do wah,
Peace broke out and the war was won
Professionally Cleave is also not used to seeing his audience. He fronts several shows on Maori radio station Kia Ora FM including an 11am 12pm weekday slot.
‘You’re in there in a dark cubicle on your own.’
People contact was one of the motivations for regular performances at Café Vertex from 2002-7, with his appearances surviving three changes of ownership. Then during a period of rebellion against overly produced music he created the virtual Last Gasp Café with a philosophy of no ‘second take, no surrender’.
‘If you make a mistake on your one take, its just too bad: you’re dead and they’re laughing’.
He’s gone back to using computer production systems which adjust sound but says the one-take regime increased his confidence in live performances and he no longer feels he’s mumbling to himself and hiding behind his guitar.
A Pakeha who grew up in South Auckland, Cleave’s always sung and played the guitar. He is fluent in Maori and a couple of the 20 or so songs he’s penned are in te reo.
The former social work lecturer and secondary school teacher has a PhD in Social Anthropology from Oxford University.
He’s written about 15 books including the Oxford Picture Dictionary of Maori and The Sovereignty Game; Power, knowledge and reading the Treaty.
Cleave says the Taylor-Jensen performances are giving him back the chance to see people and be a human being.
Peter Cleave’s next performance is at Taylor Jensen Fine Arts is on August 25th at 2pm.
There is something of a history to this combination of music and literature as the following reviews of the 2006 CD, Angels and Demons with songs to accompany the stories of Peter Wheeler show;
Angels or Demons
Only rarely does one encounter a totally new art form; but this CD, I think, actually embodies one, interspersing a sequence of delightful short stories with well-produced music – songs to guitar accompaniment – on similar or closely related topics. The five short stories cover a wide range of subjects and styles, some using straight third-person narrative, some relying almost entirely on dialogue, and some of course blending the two. All are written with deftness, control and a highly intriguing reticence: several of them blend, in a totally original manner, touches of the supernatural, with – of all things – computer technology. But both the supernatural and the technology sit easily in the narrative and contribute tellingly to the real human issues addressed… the case also labels its contents as “Short Stories and Music to touch the Heart.” And they certainly do!
‘Robert Neale’
Review:
Angels and Demons: A Word Music Experience.
The 1970s gave everyone good reason to be suspicious of what became known as ‘concept albums’. These records were usually pompous, long-winded efforts by their makers to give the impression that they were much more profound than ‘mere’ rock musicians.
With the arrival of Angels of Demons, the squeamishness over concept albums came flooding back to me, but on hearing the entire album twice, there was absolutely no reason to feel this way.
The producers have created a light, subtle and impressionistic disc, combining spoken word and music. Although there are vague links between the tracks, it is the overall impression created by the mix of stories and music that makes the album so effective.
Over eleven tracks, there are five songs and six readings. The production qualities are consistently high, and there is no sense that any of the tracks are ‘fillers’, or inserted for no particular reason.
As a suggestion, this album would be ideal for anyone travelling by car around New Zealand – for a sense of ‘New Zealandness’ it would be hard to beat.
Dr. Paul Moon.
MPhil (Hons), MA (Hons), PhD, FRHist S. Principal Lecturer Te Ara Poutama Faculty of Maori Development Auckland University of Technology.
***
The CD was developed from listening to the songs and creating stories to match.
The power of love, by Peter Hicks was recorded in Tasmania at his own studios while Paul Walker recorded his contribution in Auckland. Peter Cleave recorded in his own studio here in Palmerston North as did Jenny Loveday.
***
All the readings were recorded at the Access Manawatu Radio studio. The same studio compiled the final recording.
Angels and Demons can be purchased from Peter Wheeler through wheeler@inspire.co.nz
For books and music from Peter Cleave go to
The Book Post- Campus Press One Stop Shop
Campus Press
1992-2009
Campus Press has been operating in the Manawatu for over a decade having been established in Wellington in 1992.
August Update
Hi all.
July was a solid month for our regular set of books. Thanks to all who helped to sell books.
There is also one new book;
'Starting Points', a discussion of contemporary Maori culture and society
There are ten books in the basic Campus Press set. All of these are 200 pages or more in length. The books are also available as a Collection.
There is a playlist with videos about each book on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrcR6sTIXwU
The four most popular books are numbers 8,1,7 and 10 on the Order Form which is copied below. To order copy the form, paste it into the comments section and add your details.
Terms of trade are $57.00 to Campus Press. There is a $7.50 Post and Package cost no matter how big the order is.
Titles and ISBN numbers are below;
978-1-877229-35-0 Aotearoa, papers of contest, Fourth Edition
978-1-877229-32-9 Maori Unpacked Second Edition
978-1-877229-37-4 Iwi Station Second Edition
978-1-877229-39-8 Papers on Language Third Edition
978-1-877229-42-8 Papers on Social Work Third Edition
978-1-877229-43-5 Rangahau pae iti kahurangi Third Edition
978-1-877229-44-2 What do we know about the mark on the wall Third Edition
978-1-877229-43-5 Te Pu Tapere- the Impulse to perform, formerly titled, From the Depot Takirua, Third Edition
978-1-877229-41-1 Papers to conference Fourth Edition
978-1-877229-38-1 Starting Points
Have a great September!
Peter
http://puffcom.blogspot.com/
Campus Press
Order Form
Order Number.....
Please send us a copy or copies of
1 Aotearoa, Papers of Contest, Third Edition, Peter
Cleave x....
2 Papers to Conference, Edition Peter Cleave x.....
3 Papers on Social Work, Second Edition, Peter
Cleave x....
4 Te Pu Tapere, the impulse to perform, Peter
Cleave- this book is retitled and was formerly known as From the Depot Takirua. This is the third edition.
5 Papers on Language, Third Edition, Peter Cleave x...
6 What do we know about the mark on the wall? Third Edition, Peter Cleave x...
7 Iwi Station, a discussion of print, radio and television in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Peter Cleave x
8 Maori Unpacked, Peter Cleave x...
9 Starting Points, a discussion of contemporary Maori culture and society, Peter Cleave x...
10 Rangahau pae iti kahurangi, research in a small world of light and shade,
Peter Cleave x...
11 Ten Volumes, a Collection by Peter Cleave x.....
Please send these books to;
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