A Very Private Language

Abstract

AVery Private Language Giventhatitscharacters area deafhusbandanda blindwife, recently diagnosed withbreastcancer, thetitleofO Thiam Chin'sstory, "EyesandEars/7 might seem a little insensitive (WLT, July 2011, 12-15). Not so. In clear,unsentimental prose, O managesto pique our sympathy and pitywhileatthesametimeinviting us to admiretheuniqueand private language hischaracters havecreated. Thecoupleareliberated bytheir language :thehusband experiences hiswife's wordsas "bloodandwater andspirit"; in return, he brings thevisualworldtohis wifethrough physicalsensation. Within their ownworld, they areso finely tuned to each othertheyare able to expressa depth offeeling that goeswaybeyond the limitation ofwords.Together, they create a worldof"infinite forms." Yetas much asthey areliberated bytheir owncreation, theyare also confined: theirlanguage carries thembeyondthephysical senses uponwhich itisparadoxically reliant, and it cannotfunction beyondtheboundary ofthecouple'srelationship. Thereis no doubtthat, in thewhat-if absenceofthe woman, this private language willbelost. Farfrom beingcrassorexploitative, O's narrative leads us to wonderat the sensitivity, thesubtlety, and thebeauty that exists within allhumanrelationships andwithin languageitself. Itis an exampletous allofhow,inthisworldofcommunication breakdowns, we might better use,notjustourowneyesandears, butall other sensesas well. Nicola Skye Timmis Manchester Metropolitan University , UK States of Unification Inthe enlightening andthoughtfully assembledspecial section ofyour July 2011issue, "TheManyVoicesof ItalianLiterature," Antony Shugaar's excellent essay,"Darkness at theHeartof RecentItalianLiterature ," is an incisive andbroadly infor41 World Literature Today mative survey ofhow several decadesof sociopolitical states-of-affairs have been reflected and critiqued in contemporary Italian letters. Whilewisely noting thedifficulty ofdetermining whether the questionableactions ofa certain leaderhavebeen "more detrimental orinspirational toItaly's writers," Shugaar provides a very effective framework within whichreaders perhaps unfamiliar withsuchmatters might better comprehend much oftherest ofthespecial section, from someofDaciaMaraini's views expressed in herinterview, to severalof thetextual citations inthearticle onGianni Celati, toa great many oftheverses inthe variably authored poetry sections. WhereDaniel Simon'sadditionof anti-immigrant sentiments, inhiselegant editor'snote,to Italy'scurrent laundry listofsoiledpolitics gainsfooting, then, is in Cavazzoni's curiousexcerptfrom Brief Lives ofIdiots and,evenmoreboldly, in theimmediately engrossing and,ifI may, rather amusing excerpt from Divorce IslamicStyle , by Amara Lakhous.Both engaging andengaged, thislatter piece despitesharing page-spacewithsuch a wealthofestimable literature - is easily, for me,thekeystone feature ofthis special section. Forifoneelement therein might givereaders reason tofeel surprised atthe mereexistence ofa pieceofwriting, orat thesuccess ofa writer andthefreshness of a voice,itis intheproseofthisAlgerianbornauthor whosenon-Italian nameand meta-Mediterranean taleherald, perhaps, greater literary opennessand inclusiveness at a moment when a greatmany time-weary traditions all'italiana arebeing revisited, critiqued, revised.The photographof Lakhouson the coverof the magazine thusfunctions as a statement of change andpromise initself. Bravo. Bravi. Bravissimi. Yourspecial section onItalian literature, withwonderfultranslations throughout, hasbeenprofoundly enjoyable andedifying. I applaud andamvery grateful for youreffort. PaulD'Agostino CUNYBrooklyn College ...