Dinner parties

A Dinner Party

Apparently Jean-Paul Sartre once said that "hell is other people". Which seems on the pessimistic side to me, but his theme was the subject of his play "No Exit", a play set in hell. But for Sartre hell had nothing to do with fire and pitchforks, although the gnashing of teeth could possibly have figured. 

No, the hell of Sartre is a lounge room and, as said, the torment is other people. Only a couple, but for Sartre this is more than enough. 

Not having had the pleasure of actually reading the play I cannot comment further. Maybe he makes a good point or two. Reading recently about France during the Nazi Occupation and of the various goings on on the Left Bank of Paris, Sartre comes across as rather a good egg ( as we say in the UK ) and prone to a drink or two. At least, he did after managing to get himself out of a German Concentration Camp. He was also a bit of a bed jumper but I'll leave that aside in respect to my younger readers. 

Anyway, this preamble leads me to the subject of this particular blog, my 101st. Dinner Parties and who would be invited. Sartre?  Difficult to decide. Would he bring with him a copy of "Being and Nothingness" or a bottle of wine? (Or both?) On fear of the former, perhaps no invite for Jean-Paul. So just who would I invite? It's a good game.

Another bundle of laughs from Jean-Paul

First I would have Keith Richards. He has written a superb autobiography, "Life", and it seems he would like as an epitaph on his gravestone "He passed it on". The music of the blues that is, not  his stash of drugs, rather quickly, when stopped by the police. Keef - as he is known - is very well read and  speaks in a slow drawl that suggests inebriation. However it is now believed that his excesses have been curbed and he is "clean". I do believe he would make a fine guest. 

Keith Richards, passing it on. Portrait by band-mate Ronnie Wood

Another would obviously be Thomas Merton. Every other guest would be asked to bring along a bottle or two of their favourite beer as Merton liked to sample the various brews, as  testified to in his Asian Journal. Father Louis, as he was known in his monastery, could say grace before the festivities and then launch into whatever else he wanted to. Cistercian Silence, Zen or yet another story about the snake that lurked in his hermitage woodpile. 

Thomas Merton, AKA Father Louis, I presume far from any snakes

Moving on ( as Father Louis did, rather quickly, upon seeing the snake ) I gave thought long and hard over whether an invite would be extended to John Keats. He was a very ardent person, intense, dedicated to the poetic muse.

Epitaphs have been mentioned. Keats, when facing death in Rome, aged just 25, asked his friend Joseph Severn to have just these words placed on his gravestone:- "Here lies one whose name was writ in water", and also that his name not be given. Severn complied, and the gravestone of Keats merely states "A young English poet" . 

The problem I have with Keats is his habit of indulging in poetry competitions when meeting with friends. He could spin off a few lines at will, fine stuff, fit for the print shop, to be admired by all. Alas, any attempt I made would pale in comparison. I can see the sneer and curl of his lip now as he perused any offering I made. He would be polite, but sometimes that is far worse than jeers. No, thinking about it, I think Mr Keats would have to be excluded.

John Keats

James Joyce? Yes indeed. Yes. I have loved him ever since reading the final word of Ulysses.......Yes. After the long long unpunctuated monologue of the adulterous  Molly Bloom, recounting her  amorous adventures and various other memories......yes. Maybe her words would bring down upon her head the wrath of the pious, yet in full consideration of my very own frailties, she becomes lovable, and life becomes livable. 

When Joyce was asked what he did in the War he said:- "I wrote Ulysses". Joyce also liked a tipple.The only downside is that he often relied upon others to supply the bottles.

Yes, it's Molly Bloom (as portrayed in film)

Finally, for now, Shinran. I must admit that he looks like a bit of a sourpuss in some of the portraits of him, but he did advise those at a wake to have a drink or two to cheer themselves up, so maybe the artists were seeking to bestow him with a gravitas he never actually sought. Here are his words when speaking of his place in our world:-

How joyous I am, my heart and mind being rooted in the Buddha-ground of the universal Vow, and my thoughts and feelings flowing within the dharma-ocean, which is beyond comprehension!

Dharma-Ocean

Actually I thought I was building up quite a guest list by now (without even considering Bob Dylan or Attila the Hun) but looking back see that I have chosen to exclude both Sartre and Keats. My judgemental mind! So I will allow them both in, but perhaps insisting that they occupy a spare corner together. Keats can invite Sartre to compose a spontaneous ode to the proceedings, while Sartre can then proceed to wail and gnash his teeth.

Gnashing teeth

Related Quotes:- 

“If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company.”

(Jean-Paul Sartre)

I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police. 

(Keith Richards)

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

(Thomas Merton)

Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced. 

(John Keats)

To mingle right action with the action that is not akin to it is called the confused practice. Those that err in this have not attained to the single heart. They know not thankfulness for the grace of the Enlightened One.

(Shinran) 

Echoes of emptiness