There was an engaged crowd gathered at The New Masculinity - a conversation between Damien Levi and four Kiwi writers who tackle what it is to be a modern man in their work. They humbly walked on stage, addressed the crowd and got to the business of the hour.
Breton Dukes wrote Party Boy, a novel about Marco, a stressed out cook in a trendy Dunedin bar, a married father of three who’s life converges on him upon his 50th birthday. Breton’s work examines the complexities of reconciling with the past, asking the question are you still a good man despite what you have done?
John Summers writes the non-fiction work Green Sea, about being lost in the cold dark of the bush. That endless terrible isolation, the fear of the unknown and the humiliation of it all. But what does ‘lost’ really mean if used as a metaphor for our everyday lives?
Green Sea: Lost in the New Zealand Bush
Lawrence Patchett’s collection of short stories, Have This Heart, is about finding your way back after the consequences of your mistakes, whether they are social, financial or personal. The men in his book see their own privilege and don’t know what to do with it.
Joseph Trinidad writes Lucky Creatures, a collection of essays which explores identity and displacement, and the complexities of immigrant life. From the richness of his Filipino culture to sex, death, family, farmers and baklâ’s.
Damien Levi was an excellent host, he had prepared and read the work and engaged thoughtfully with each author, letting them define their work for themselves.
Damien asks the panel of men:
How does where you are affects your masculinity?
For Breton Dukes, who was born in Dunedin, where you are imprints a lot on who you are. He talks of Otago Boys High as the engine of Party Boy and the culture of an all boys' school where you learn to keep your head down and not stand out. There was once an idea for the book that was too dark, he mentions, alluding to the sinister nature of the school. In the end, Party Boy became more about reconciling with the ghosts of his past rather than bringing them to life.
John Summers offers an alternative. He mentions how important a place is when you are lost and alone. Your thoughts are with home, a place that you can pull yourself towards in isolation - an understanding that what you hold dear and depend upon can be whipped away in an instant. There is a yearning to get back what is lost. Through his interviews with the men in his book, John came to another realization; you are always in someone's thoughts when you are lost. The humiliation of being alone does not translate to others. There is a lot of grace and love that the world gives you on the outside. Good people will always want the best for you.
For Lawrence Patchett, masculinity isn’t so much defined by a particular place, rather there is a territory of emotion to explore. His work is about men seeking empathetic connection with others. He writes of working men who cannot hide from their lives. They are men who are defined by their place in society and the expectations thrust upon them, men who are striving for richer connections and a way back into the world.
The Philippines is essential in Joseph Trinidad’s writing. So much of who he is, his connection to his family, his identity, and challenges faced is defined by his connection to Filipino culture. Joseph mentions how immigration displaced his family, how he forged new relationships in what he calls “gumboot schools” around the farmlands of central Hawkes Bay. He reminisces about the love he has for his bogan friends who encapsulate the typical Kiwi bloke identity. For Joseph, when you are a blank canvas you have to negotiate who you are.
Another question that arose was:
How fatherhood affects writing?
Lawrence is a step-father, Pākehā, who entered a Māori family and learned to adjust. His previous work more directly addressed this adjustment - Have This Heart leans more in the shadow of previous work. The men in his book are aware of their fathers and how it has impacted who they are, a sort of questioning about what a man might be and what he can inspire to become.
John relates how being a father has affected the process of writing. It seems that for John, a work-from-home dad, that after every other sentence he might have to yell at the kids to put the hose down. Throughout his research he found that one thing is true. For all fathers there is a fear of the world that your child grows into. There is a worry about providing and a lingering thought of how you might be perceived. A man might tell you about everything they did to survive, bring out the maps and recount every step but a man would dodge and avoid when asked a simple question - How did you feel?
Breton is proud to be a house husband - a domestic wiz in the kitchen, an expert with the hoover. Breton understands Marco and seeks to increase the pressures he faces, the same pressures Breton has faced - Marco is a self-insert of the author. There is a brilliant scene in Party boy where Marco is navigating the streets of Dunedin with his children in the car. The scene highlights a very important understanding - Marco needs his children more than they need him. For the author, the haunting of who Marco was, informs you of the adult he is and the father he wants to be. To be better, to be loving, to care and to be a part of his children’s lives.
Joseph is aware of how being a queer person has affected his family’s perspective of him. In the Philippines there is a high fertility rate and the population about 90% Catholic. It’s no surprise that Joseph wants to be a father given how important family is to him. He is aware, however, of the hetero expectations that are put on men. In one of his essays, he shares the anti-queer sentiment he experienced at a baby shower from an aunt who told him that he cannot have children - a ludicrous statement that had the audience collectively sighing in response. Joseph underlines father/son relationships in his essay during the summer, the river runs red which recounts tuli, male circumcision, a rite of passage in the Philippines. During this event it is a father’s responsibility to guide and walk a son through the ordeal - a moment of connection.
The writing process
It took John about 5 years of research and writing to finish Green Sea. The spark for the book was a paragraph he read years ago in the papers about a man who was part of a search for a missing person. Weeks after the search was called off, the man went back into the bush on Christmas Day, alone. His efforts resulted in finding clues that lead to the discovery of the missing person’s body. The paragraph struck a chord with John and carried through the years. He wanted to explore the fears of those that are lost, what does it feel like? John always writes two books in one. For Green Sea there is writing about the bush then there’s writing about feeling lost in everyday live and what it is to connect. He talked to many men and their families, some would be open, some would close themselves to the conversation. In the process, John got to experience the loneliness that comes with isolation vicariously through the men that he talked to.
For Lawrence, writing a collection of short stories felt like coming home. It was how he learned how to write in his formative years, so it only felt natural. This collection was also how he reflected on his previous writing, a way of unpacking what was in his head. When writing this book he found himself writing some 20 odd stories and editing them down to the 10 that become Have This Heart.
Breton has an eye for detail when it comes to writing about food. It is a result of his many years of hosting dinner parties and working as a line cook in all sorts of restaurants. He finds the drama in food, like how Marco can succeed in the kitchen where he otherwise can’t. For Marco there needs to be a plan, there needs to be control. Breton reveals his character well in a scene where Marco fails to hold on during a barbecue due to taking some unknown drug.
Joseph writes his stories with consent, figuring that involving a real person in the process allows the narrative to open. It makes it easier to capture someone's voice and to write what is true. He sees it more as painting a person with broad strokes, rather than taking a photograph and he paints wonderful portraits of the people nearest to him. He says that the lines between a lie and a truth is where the story lies.
I had a wonderful time at this talk. I found that the authors challenged perspectives of masculinity and talked eloquently on how it has affected their work. They were a bunch of charmers, quick with jokes and antidotes, eager listeners and impressive talkers. I want to read all four of the author’s books and have so far managed to buy two of them. I would loan them from the library, but their impressiveness is represented by their long hold lists!
Armand
Spreydon
More by the authors
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