Brevity as a must
- Sanjorge Guillaume
- Jan 1, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 30
A contributor to several journals and an observer of cultural changes, Jean-Marie Sanjorge appropriates the duanju format to offer a broader interpretation. For him, it is fully in line with the acceleration that shapes our modernity.
"A lot has been said about the phenomenon of acceleration that has characterized Western modernity over the last two centuries. It's not my place here to judge the advantages and disadvantages of this situation, but, in accordance with the title of this page, to consider it unavoidable! We can naturally link this to the phenomenon of acceleration that has characterized political cycles, social developments, clothing trends, the art of writing, or, quite simply, the general way of life. This movement is, of course, reinforced by the complete computerization of recent communication methods. Our vertical fictions are an absolute accomplishment of this trend, something we fully embrace! It's up to us to reflect, in collaboration with our partners, on how to further enrich our creations and give them a new dimension!"
Continuing this reflection, Jean-Marie Sanjorge recalls that brevity is not only a modern constraint, but also an ancient aesthetic tradition, like Chinese Jueju , which reveals the strength of very short forms.
"We could talk about the short forms used brilliantly by French writers, but, in homage to our Asian partners, I will mention here short poetic texts: very old but still practiced, they were born from the feeling that a few words were likely to gather the attention and emotion of the reader, around images immediately conveying aesthetics!
For example, the Chinese poet Du Mu, in the 9th century AD, in just four lines:
Over such a long distance, birdsong where green illuminates red,
Villages by the water, hills, banners of wine in the wind,
Hundreds of temples in the South How many terraces drowned in mist and rain?
In a single glance, these birds in the mist offer us their beauty...
What more can we say? How far we seem here from our current vertical fictions! Of course! Yet, let us keep in mind the idea of a concentration of emotion, which we must try to reanimate, in a form that is obviously totally new! We will create surprise... That is our challenge!"
Between digital modernity and poetic heritage, Jean-Marie Sanjorge sees brevity as an art in itself, a stimulating path for creators, beyond economic logic.
