Yann Martel VS Stephen Harper: The Battle for the North American Mind

For the past 8 weeks or so I have been following writer Yann Martel's (The Life of Pi) subtle, sarcastic and scrumptious toying with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. You can learn about this battle royale at Martel's site ( ) for yourself, but here is a quick summary. A few months ago, Martel and 49 other Canadian artists and recipients of arts grants helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Council for the Arts. Well, as it turned out the celebration was not so celebratory; for his description of the event, it seemed more perfunctory. The biggest slap in the face was the seeming disinterested to the Dubya of the North, Mr. Harper, who didn't even pay attention, much less speak at the ceremony.

Yann Martel is now set on proving a point. To draw attention to the lack of funding for, interest in, and passion for the Arts in North America, he has faced off against the inattentive PM by sending him a notable piece of writing every second Monday. So far, he has sent Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilych, Orwell's Animal Farm, Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Smart's By Grand Central Station I sat Down and Wept, and, most recently, the Indian holy text, The Bhagavad Gita. Martel has chosen this list of 5 books because they engender a sense of "stillness." I'm not sure exactly why he thinks these 5 seemingly disconnected lot hold the essence of stillness, but, instead, it seems he is saying ANY type of book, or, more generally, any type of art makes the consumer be still. To appreciate Art, we need to stand (or sit) back and let it flow over us. (Most television, however, doesn't seem to create stillness though because of its crazy-making pace and its connection to the advertisement and selling products.) A book, a paint, a symphonic piece requires the consumer to focus while simultaneously letting go.

Martel's gentle prodding at the Western mind by way of his famous target is reminiscent of another event a few weeks ago in which a small Mom-and-Pop used bookshop owner burned a warehouse full of books because no one would take them. The owner had too many books for his store, so he kept them in a large warehouse. Because book sales were going down, though, he was forced to get rid of some inventory. He tried to give the perfectly good used books to various agencies, charities and schools, but no one would take them. The bookseller decided to get a little Fehrenheit 451 and make a statement by destroying the books to point out just how little American (and, evidently, Canadian) culture cares for the Arts and for stillness.

It is sad that fewer people read for fun. Fewer people appreciate the Arts, which are now more accessible to the populace than ever. It makes me see that my job is that much more important, and as time wears on and the television drains its viewers minds, I have to make a special effort to help my kids see that Art--including books--is just as exciting, sexy, fun as TV but with something more...the still and beauty that Martel is trying to get Harper, and all of us, to see.

As a postscript; Harper has gotten back to Martel (3 or 4 weeks later) through his secretary. He (or rather she) sent a brief and insincere (?) thank you to the writer. The wording goes well with Harper's smug smile on the front page of Martel's site.

http://whatisstephenharperreading.ca/

Finally some time...

After more than a month away from writing here, I have finally found some time to get back to it. I am glad to be back. Please look for more posts in the near future.