A Sincerely Ironic Correspondence
On the origins of a future classic, complete with saints and sultans.
TL;DR: I’m Austin, this post is my introduction and a response to the inaugural post. I'm trading letters and prompts with
, all to be published in this publication. Our plan is for each to respond to the other's prompt on alternating weeks, hopefully resulting in something interesting, if irreverent. There are no pre-selected topics, and knowing Z, the conversation will probably be all over the place.I'm starting a writing project with my friend and colleague,
(from now on Z, for brevity and the sake of my shift key). The idea is simple: we'll trade prompts and respond on alternating weeks here on this publication, at least one post a week for the next six months.If you haven’t read Z’s intro, do that first:
For me, the rationale is simple: I think there's a lot to be said for being forced to produce something consistently, and on a schedule. In line with the parable about pots, writing more will more than likely make the writing better. An improved craft, and simply getting numb to the process are two results I hope to get out of the structure of this project. I also hope to use this slightly more casual format to inspire and cross-polinate with topics that fit
, and maybe attract some more thoughtfully critical voices to that project.Beyond the merits of writing a lot, this project is also an opportunity for constraint. Creativity is born of constraint: giving up the agency of choosing my own topics, of working within the realm of another person's interests and perspectives is just the type of enabling constraint that I think could be very interesting. Doubly so because I'll be working within the confines of Z's interests and perspectives, an admittedly strange realm. There's a good deal of distance between us, philosophically and aesthetically, and I hope that leads to interesting topics and fertile ground for conversation.
In an age where you're never forced to spend time with people that differ from you ideologically, or even differ from you at all, I think we should take all of the opportunities we can to escape the bubble. There's an ancient idea in philosophy, that if people with different understandings of the world get together, not simply to debate, but to have a conversation that results in a better understanding of the truth for all involved.
If his introductory post is anything to go by, Z tends towards the dramatic, classical, and (curiously) towards Abrahamic imagery. I'll try and respect that aesthetic choice, and close with something fitting of all three:
In August of the year 1219, Christian crusaders of the Fifth Crusade had cut a bloody line to the stronghold of Damietta in ancient Egypt. By decree of the sultan, Christian heads were rewarded with gold, and at Damietta alone over 5,000 of those bloody bounties were filled. Then came Francis of Assisi, not quite a saint, but hoping towards martyrdom by storming the Muslim line. Allegedly naked.
He wasn't killed, but instead beaten and brought to the sultan, one Malek al-Kamil. There is no record of their conversation, although we can assume that Francis preached Christian gospel and al-Kamil responded in kind. But whatever they talked about, they did so for more than a month, and both came out of that encounter with the other in much higher estimation. They engaged in dialectic at a time when their respective tribes killed each other by the thousands.
Drawing any parallels between the relationship between Muslims and Christians during the Crusades to our present age is more than a bit melodramatic, and probably more than a little blasphemous on both counts. But we do live in an age where the dominant tribal narratives and positions are largely not open to dialogue. Those that don't adopt red or blue, or who favor some more nuanced grey, don't have much space to share ideas. Perhaps the answer is to adopt a position of sincere irony and let the roads lead where they may.
I think there's about as much room to compare this project to The Creation of Adam as there is to compare it to the Fifth Crusades, but hey, here we are. I didn't get to write the first introductory post, so I'm following set precedent, heterodox humor and all.
But, despite the questionable aesthetic, I'm excited to get started.
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