Where the Halling Valley River Lies by Carl Halling (interesting novels to read .TXT) š
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somewhat convoluted explanation of how the various strands of āWhere the Halling Valley River Liesā came to be concocted.
And which we begin with the leading text from Book One, āLeitmotifs from an English Pastoraleā, whose nucleus came about some years ago when I attempted to write a piece about the pastoral tradition within English music, before realising Iād set myself a monumental task. But I rambled on regardless, only to lose what Iād written so far when my computer crashed beyond all hope of repair. As for reasons best known to myself, Iād not ensured its continuing existence by way of a duplicate.
I think I then attempted a re-write with the singer-songwriter Nick Drake as its main feature, which I enhanced with references to various examples of English pastoral music, such as my own personal favourite, āA Lark Ascendingā by Vaughan Williams.
Ultimately it was given the title āFrom an English Pastorale ā For Nick Drakeā; but I only ever saw it as a makeweight. That is, until I decided to expand it into āLeitmotifs from an English Pastoraleā.
I canāt even recall why I made the decision to include the leitmotifs or recurring themes, which were of course originally used in music rather than in writing, although ultimately co-opted by literature. But it was a risky one, lest readers think I was inadvertently repeating myself. But then the piece as a whole is pretty ālawlessā, which is what the French writer AndrĆ© Gide proposed a novel should be.
Although āLeitmotifsā is hardly a novel; and Gideās shorter works were far from lawless.
Itās based on fact, and predictably so for anyone whoās in any way familiar with what I optimistically like to call my writings. And while partly original, itās also rooted in a network of autobiographical pieces Iāve been concocting since 2006; having destroyed most of what Iād written up to that point.
But itās not a memoir as such, at least, not as I see it, but then in the end, itās not up to me to say what it is. In fact when allās said and done, I havenāt the first idea what it is other than something I wrote. But by naming the central figure Runacles, Iām able to distance myself a little from him, so that Runacles is a version of me as opposed to the completed article.
And so we move on to the quartet of essays that complete Book One, āA Quartet of Essays and a Stray Pastoraleā.
The first of these, āThe Coming of the Absalomsā was fashioned from an early section of āThe Gambolling Baby Boomerā, first chapter of my memoir āRescue of a Rock and Roll Childā. Or should I say memoirsā¦for it exists as two versions, one being a direct memoir, the other, similarly direct, but with many names changed.
And while āAbsalomā has since been enhanced, the similarities still very much remain. While the second was derived from another chapter from āRescueā, āThe Triumph of Decadenceā. As to the third, it was based on āThe Riddle of the British Englishāwhich while still available online has to all intents and purposes been shelved. While the source of the fifth, āFrom Avant Garde to Global Villageā, was āA Final Distant Clarion Cryā, final chapter of the aforesaid āRescue of a Rock and Roll Childā, more of which later.
Which brings us to Book Two, āYour Lethal Life and Other Versified Leftoversā which as the name suggests consists exclusively of versified writings.
And these begin with āIt Wasnāt So Long Agoā, a lyric written in 2003 for a song I roughly recorded onto cassette, some years before it was transferred onto CD. And thence onto You Tubeā¦together with āToilers of the Seaā, āA Song of Summerā, āStevie B and Meā, āThe Ones We Loveā, āLike All the Moonstruck Doā, āI Let You Goā and āTime Was I Wasā.
While āTime Travelā was written and recorded in ā99; with āAll Through the Agesā emerging perhaps a year later, while never making it onto CD.
As to āYour Beautiful Lethal Lifeā, it was written only a matter of weeks ago from an earlier lyric Iād based on a collaboration with a close friend, dating from about twenty years agoā¦when my own life was both beautiful and lethal.
āWicked Cahootsā and āThe Woodville Hall Soul Boysā stem from stories written in the late 1970s, while they first saw the light of day in versified form in 2006, before going on to form part of the memoir which came ultimately to be titled āRescue of a Rock and Roll Childā.
While āThoughts of a Forlorn FlĆ¢neurā, a relatively new work in its present form, is based partly on a story written in about 1987 and subsequently destroyed, and partly on material written specifically for what became āRescueā.
āSpark of Youth Long Goneā, āSome Perverse Willā and āLondon as the Lieuā all also date from the ā80s. Indeed āLondonā first existed in prose form as part of the same story that inspired parts of āFlĆ¢neurā. While āSparkā pertained to a different tale entirely, and āSome Perverse Willā existed in versified form from the outset. Although itās since undergone some modification, like so much of what has ended up being included in āWhere the Halling Valley River Liesā.
Shifting to āSeven Chapters from a Sad Sack Loserās Lifeā, its origins also lie in the āRescueā. For out of the latter came two kindred pieces centring on one David Cristiansen, namely, āThe Tormentingā, which is told in the third person with many names changed, and āThe Testimonyā, which is even more bowlderised than its sister piece, if thatās at all possible.
And āSad Sackā is effectively āThe Tormentingā, with elements of āThe Testimonyā added to it. Such as several autobiographical narratives which, deemed ineffectual as shorts, were shelved along with both longer works. While āRescueā was relegated to what might be called a second team of writings.
Which is where Book Four once existedā¦that is, until it was recently upgraded and completed. But its evolution was even more labyrinthine than that of āSad Sackā.
What is certain is that it first emerged in the wake of āRescueā as a second memoir, only to vanish from the writing site Iād initially used to store itā¦having failed to benefit from the safety net of a back-up copy.
And as a result, I was forced to re-write it; and it emerged in embryonic form as a vast diversity of writings. And some or all of these are still available to read online. Yet, it was ultimately fine-tuned in order that it focus on my father, Patrick Halling, as well as the successive musical and cultural climates in which his career took place. And tendered the name āWhere the Halling Valley River Liesā.
While many, perhaps most of the elements pertaining to myself would be destined to end up in āSad Sackā.
Which brings us to āBeachcombings from the Halling Valley Riverā, of which this finale is an integral part, together with versified pieces not considered of sufficiently high quality to be included in āLethal Lifeā, such as the opener, āBouzingo ā The Gathering of the Poetsā, whose origins lie in an unfinished tale, possibly dating from around 1979.
And which centres on a club situated in an imaginary small town in Southern Spain, in which fashionable young men and women are wont to nightly congregate as a means of fulfilling their wildest romantic fantasies. Is in other words, entirely fantastical, unlike most of my writings.
While āCall the FBIā, āSome Romantic Afternoonā, āFor More than a Million Dreamsā, āMelancholy Girlā and āMy Travelsā were all originally song lyrics dating from 2003.
So, where precisely do āSome Sun Drunk Day He Saidā, āGallant Festivitiesā and āThe Wanderer of Golders Greenā fit in?
Wellā¦āSun Drunkā has the dubious honour of being the only slice of juvenilia contained within the entire book, having been conceived as some kind of poem in about 1976. And as such, it provides a certain insight into the psychological condition of the dandified figure from chapter two of āSeven Chapters from a Sad Sack Loserās Lifeā.
While āGallant Festivitiesā and āThe Wanderer of Golders Greenā were versified for inclusion in what ultimately became the āRescueā, having been based on notes made in the early 1980s. While like all my autobiographical writings with the exception of the title piece, personal names were changed for the sake of privacy, while it was no less motivated by a spirit of truth and integrity to the best of my ability.
And this short coda finishes things off quite neatly. But thatās not to say
āWhere the Halling Valley River Liesā has attained its definitive state, because by its very nature, it can be added to ad infinitum. So that it remain perpetually fluid and perpetually inchoate. And in perpetual evolution.
Cover Image: River Thames (Photo by Carl Halling).
Imprint
And which we begin with the leading text from Book One, āLeitmotifs from an English Pastoraleā, whose nucleus came about some years ago when I attempted to write a piece about the pastoral tradition within English music, before realising Iād set myself a monumental task. But I rambled on regardless, only to lose what Iād written so far when my computer crashed beyond all hope of repair. As for reasons best known to myself, Iād not ensured its continuing existence by way of a duplicate.
I think I then attempted a re-write with the singer-songwriter Nick Drake as its main feature, which I enhanced with references to various examples of English pastoral music, such as my own personal favourite, āA Lark Ascendingā by Vaughan Williams.
Ultimately it was given the title āFrom an English Pastorale ā For Nick Drakeā; but I only ever saw it as a makeweight. That is, until I decided to expand it into āLeitmotifs from an English Pastoraleā.
I canāt even recall why I made the decision to include the leitmotifs or recurring themes, which were of course originally used in music rather than in writing, although ultimately co-opted by literature. But it was a risky one, lest readers think I was inadvertently repeating myself. But then the piece as a whole is pretty ālawlessā, which is what the French writer AndrĆ© Gide proposed a novel should be.
Although āLeitmotifsā is hardly a novel; and Gideās shorter works were far from lawless.
Itās based on fact, and predictably so for anyone whoās in any way familiar with what I optimistically like to call my writings. And while partly original, itās also rooted in a network of autobiographical pieces Iāve been concocting since 2006; having destroyed most of what Iād written up to that point.
But itās not a memoir as such, at least, not as I see it, but then in the end, itās not up to me to say what it is. In fact when allās said and done, I havenāt the first idea what it is other than something I wrote. But by naming the central figure Runacles, Iām able to distance myself a little from him, so that Runacles is a version of me as opposed to the completed article.
And so we move on to the quartet of essays that complete Book One, āA Quartet of Essays and a Stray Pastoraleā.
The first of these, āThe Coming of the Absalomsā was fashioned from an early section of āThe Gambolling Baby Boomerā, first chapter of my memoir āRescue of a Rock and Roll Childā. Or should I say memoirsā¦for it exists as two versions, one being a direct memoir, the other, similarly direct, but with many names changed.
And while āAbsalomā has since been enhanced, the similarities still very much remain. While the second was derived from another chapter from āRescueā, āThe Triumph of Decadenceā. As to the third, it was based on āThe Riddle of the British Englishāwhich while still available online has to all intents and purposes been shelved. While the source of the fifth, āFrom Avant Garde to Global Villageā, was āA Final Distant Clarion Cryā, final chapter of the aforesaid āRescue of a Rock and Roll Childā, more of which later.
Which brings us to Book Two, āYour Lethal Life and Other Versified Leftoversā which as the name suggests consists exclusively of versified writings.
And these begin with āIt Wasnāt So Long Agoā, a lyric written in 2003 for a song I roughly recorded onto cassette, some years before it was transferred onto CD. And thence onto You Tubeā¦together with āToilers of the Seaā, āA Song of Summerā, āStevie B and Meā, āThe Ones We Loveā, āLike All the Moonstruck Doā, āI Let You Goā and āTime Was I Wasā.
While āTime Travelā was written and recorded in ā99; with āAll Through the Agesā emerging perhaps a year later, while never making it onto CD.
As to āYour Beautiful Lethal Lifeā, it was written only a matter of weeks ago from an earlier lyric Iād based on a collaboration with a close friend, dating from about twenty years agoā¦when my own life was both beautiful and lethal.
āWicked Cahootsā and āThe Woodville Hall Soul Boysā stem from stories written in the late 1970s, while they first saw the light of day in versified form in 2006, before going on to form part of the memoir which came ultimately to be titled āRescue of a Rock and Roll Childā.
While āThoughts of a Forlorn FlĆ¢neurā, a relatively new work in its present form, is based partly on a story written in about 1987 and subsequently destroyed, and partly on material written specifically for what became āRescueā.
āSpark of Youth Long Goneā, āSome Perverse Willā and āLondon as the Lieuā all also date from the ā80s. Indeed āLondonā first existed in prose form as part of the same story that inspired parts of āFlĆ¢neurā. While āSparkā pertained to a different tale entirely, and āSome Perverse Willā existed in versified form from the outset. Although itās since undergone some modification, like so much of what has ended up being included in āWhere the Halling Valley River Liesā.
Shifting to āSeven Chapters from a Sad Sack Loserās Lifeā, its origins also lie in the āRescueā. For out of the latter came two kindred pieces centring on one David Cristiansen, namely, āThe Tormentingā, which is told in the third person with many names changed, and āThe Testimonyā, which is even more bowlderised than its sister piece, if thatās at all possible.
And āSad Sackā is effectively āThe Tormentingā, with elements of āThe Testimonyā added to it. Such as several autobiographical narratives which, deemed ineffectual as shorts, were shelved along with both longer works. While āRescueā was relegated to what might be called a second team of writings.
Which is where Book Four once existedā¦that is, until it was recently upgraded and completed. But its evolution was even more labyrinthine than that of āSad Sackā.
What is certain is that it first emerged in the wake of āRescueā as a second memoir, only to vanish from the writing site Iād initially used to store itā¦having failed to benefit from the safety net of a back-up copy.
And as a result, I was forced to re-write it; and it emerged in embryonic form as a vast diversity of writings. And some or all of these are still available to read online. Yet, it was ultimately fine-tuned in order that it focus on my father, Patrick Halling, as well as the successive musical and cultural climates in which his career took place. And tendered the name āWhere the Halling Valley River Liesā.
While many, perhaps most of the elements pertaining to myself would be destined to end up in āSad Sackā.
Which brings us to āBeachcombings from the Halling Valley Riverā, of which this finale is an integral part, together with versified pieces not considered of sufficiently high quality to be included in āLethal Lifeā, such as the opener, āBouzingo ā The Gathering of the Poetsā, whose origins lie in an unfinished tale, possibly dating from around 1979.
And which centres on a club situated in an imaginary small town in Southern Spain, in which fashionable young men and women are wont to nightly congregate as a means of fulfilling their wildest romantic fantasies. Is in other words, entirely fantastical, unlike most of my writings.
While āCall the FBIā, āSome Romantic Afternoonā, āFor More than a Million Dreamsā, āMelancholy Girlā and āMy Travelsā were all originally song lyrics dating from 2003.
So, where precisely do āSome Sun Drunk Day He Saidā, āGallant Festivitiesā and āThe Wanderer of Golders Greenā fit in?
Wellā¦āSun Drunkā has the dubious honour of being the only slice of juvenilia contained within the entire book, having been conceived as some kind of poem in about 1976. And as such, it provides a certain insight into the psychological condition of the dandified figure from chapter two of āSeven Chapters from a Sad Sack Loserās Lifeā.
While āGallant Festivitiesā and āThe Wanderer of Golders Greenā were versified for inclusion in what ultimately became the āRescueā, having been based on notes made in the early 1980s. While like all my autobiographical writings with the exception of the title piece, personal names were changed for the sake of privacy, while it was no less motivated by a spirit of truth and integrity to the best of my ability.
And this short coda finishes things off quite neatly. But thatās not to say
āWhere the Halling Valley River Liesā has attained its definitive state, because by its very nature, it can be added to ad infinitum. So that it remain perpetually fluid and perpetually inchoate. And in perpetual evolution.
Cover Image: River Thames (Photo by Carl Halling).
Imprint
Publication Date: 08-14-2011
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