Earthly Greetings & Cosmic Meetings ...

[Jimski]

Hi folks,

Glad to join such friendly company. I'm a distinctly mature student at the University of Greenwich (SE London to you foreign types) where I've qualified as a Professional Writer and have nearly finished a BA in Humanities.

I'm researching MM for two parts of my degree. First, I'm looking at some of his works for a module called 'Religious Themes in Future Fiction' (no, it's not about God but about humanity). Second, I'm doing a dissertation on Free & Alternative Festivals, the acts invloved and the influences (see my other thread if you want to contribute - all welcome).

I've been a MM fine for thirty years now, have seen him play with Hawkwind and hope to follow some way along the same path, as both a writer and commentator. I work at the University part-time in the library but the last job I actually had before I became a student was a film extra (Shaun of the Dead etc).

[Doc]

Welcome, Jimski!

I suspect you have already included Dancers at the End of Time in your reading list for religious themes in Future Fiction. Just out of curiosity (and if I'm not being too nosey), what else are you including, and what direction are you trying to take?

[Jimski]

Hi Doc,

Thanks for the interest. You're absolutely right, 'Dancers' was first on my list, along with the original JC series. I’m intrigued by the concept behind the Eternal Champion. Almost every manifestation has a background of power which they reject or destroy and MM seems to revel in writing this. JC, Elric and the others aren’t traditional heroes, but are brim full of discontentment and failure. These are not the heroes of the Romantic tradition, they are full of angst and confusion and seem more settled trying not to appear in the narrative at all – it is only circumstance that repeatedly throws them back into the fray.

I’m interested on how this reflects on the reader’s concepts. How is it that these characters are more interesting than the usual heroes? Is the Eternal Champion a reflection of Everyman? Underneath our desires for glory, power and wealth is there an underlying drive for a settled life in all of us because we recognise the problems that come with these attributes?

I’m still far from settled on this angle but you get the idea. Writing from a good author subconsciously questions or reflects the reader and, as a novice writer myself, I find the study of MM and his contemporaries intriguing.

I’d recommend getting hold of a copy of Colin Greenland’s 1983 work The Entropy Exhibition: Michael Moorcock and the British ‘New Wave’ in Science Fiction. It examines and develops many themes in Moorcock, Ballard and others’ works.

I should also recommend What If?: Religious Themes in Future Fiction by my tutor, Dr. Mike Alsford. This is a more general work but I found it an incredibly easy book to dip into and explores the genre thoroughly. And there’s no mention of God – only humanity.

If you’ve got any ideas please feel free to drop me a line – I’m taking the BA to open my mind and learn, not to simply get a qualification.

[Doc]

The existential questions abound! The Condition of Muzak certainly asks some of the questions that interest you, as does the entire character of John Daker.

Sounds very interesting. I am a bit familiar with Greenland's work. Have you looked at Jeff Gardiner's The Age of Chaos? Gardiner analyzes each of Mike's series, as well as his body of work (up until 2000). He touches on issues that may interest you.

Alsford's work sounds very interesting. I will certainly track down a copy. I'm presently starting an article on totemism in fantastic fiction, using Emile Durkheim's ideas about mechanical solidarity as my starting point. The idea of humanity

Good luck with your studies. I hope they continue to engage you. I have taught university students in the U.S. for many years, and I find that returning students are often the most interested and interesting students I have.

[Kipper]

Hi from me as well Jimski! Being a kipper, no-one expects me to use big words, but I can appreciate the attraction of having an expanded mind! I also wish you luck with your studies, and hope, perhaps to see some of your work aired here?

[Jimski]

Thanks to both of you for the greetings - always nice to be welcomed.

I'll have a look for Jeff Gardiner's work, it sounds like it could be a real help. Mike Alsford mentioned to me that he's also just finished work on hero figures (shades of Hero with a Thousand Faces, perhaps?) so I may even drop a review or two on the site if there's a suitable forum.

As for my own work being published here Kip, well I've gotta get my degree out of the way first. I'm limiting myself to a little music reviewing online 'til then. Afetr the degree - I'd love to do my Masters but paying for education in the UK is decidedly expensive - I've run up 20 grands worth of fees and grant debt already!

Do you know the best way to get a thread noticed by MM in person at all? I dropped a thread into the 'Questions for Mike' forum to try and get his attention. I'm researching alternative music festivals, acts and their influences in the UK 1970 - 1992 (aging hippy y'see) and would dearly like his input on the Portabello Road scene in the early 70's, when he used to perform with Hawkwind under the railway arches.

I'm chasing the mighty Mick Farren and chatted to Dave Brock at a Hawkwind DVD shoot the other week but MM was such a literary influence that his input would be invaluable.

Seeya later,

J

[lemec]

Hello!

[David Mosley]

Do you know the best way to get a thread noticed by MM in person at all? I dropped a thread into the 'Questions for Mike' forum to try and get his attention. I'm researching alternative music festivals, acts and their influences in the UK 1970 - 1992 (aging hippy y'see) and would dearly like his input on the Portabello Road scene in the early 70's, when he used to perform with Hawkwind under the railway arches.

You've already succeeded, Jim, because Mike has posted a reply to your thread in the Q&A forum > see here <

The Q&A forum is the best place to contact Mike, since while it's not the only forum he looks at, it is the one he visits most often. Mike's time online is of course limited by how busy he is writing and/or travelling as well, so if your post seems to drop off the radar before he replies feel free to *bump* it back up to the top.

Good luck with the dissertation, btw.

[voilodian ghagnasdiak]

Hi Jimski I bumped up the Ladbroke Grove thread which I found very interesting in regards to the culture and characters that resided there in the sixties and seventies.

[Morgan Kane]

Hello !

[Hieronymus]

Welcome here Jimski!

[Muroc]

Jimski, Belated welcome from moi also

[Perssonicus]

Greetings, Jimski:

I'm newly arrived in the Multiverse as well, but like yourself, have been reading Mike's works for close to thirty years. I have gotten such a kick out of asking him questions and reading his responses. Good luck on your degree. Well met!