The attentive and/or long-time reader of Parrhesia will notice the name Isa Harper here and there, as author, character, scapegoat. Harper is a figment of my imagination, his name an anagram for Parrhesia.
The blog is a very strange discursive space; at once personal and absolutely de-personalized, it allows for an entirely new set of statements and figurings - artistic, political, satirical, etc. However, the line between narrator and author are non-existent in the grammar of the traditional blog. Unless something is attributed to someone else explicitly, the audience assumes the confessional nature of the blog is to be taken at face value. To overcome this entirely would take the deceptive act of adopting a blog persona and writing from that mental space. However, the self-deception that would need to take place to do so is herculean in scope and defeats the very premise of my blog, Parrhesia (translated as "fearless speech" via Foucault). One cannot speak fearlessly and speak pseudonymonously. The two are incompatible.
So, instead, I opt for this third option. Of course, not everyone will read this post who reads a poem by Isa Harper on my page, but if there is ever a question I can point them to this post as an apologia and an explanation of sorts. It is necessary, lest I be confused with my narrator (for all those who know me and read me) and so that I can write whatever it is that I am wont to write in this space, in my voice or in the voice of another.
In a novel, it is much easier perhaps. Twain writes, "You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter." Melville writes, "Call me Ishmael." Immediately we know we are dealing with a narrator. (Please note: no comparison between my writing and these greats is meant. These are just famous examples that came to mind straightaway and did not require a lot of effort to find - I'm a lazy author at heart, one of the reasons I make no comparison to these greats.)
Where was I? Oh yes, immediately we know we're dealing with a narrator. However, I write, "Life's a bitch and then you marry one" and it's a little bit less clear that between myself and my marriage and those words there is a third party - a narrator who is speaking colloquially of his own marriage, not mine. So, I attribute it to someone else and make clear that I am doing so and that that someone else is my character to do with as I please. (Sounds dirty.)
And unlike authors, narrators can be made unreliable, can twist and turn in ways that a fearlessly speaking author cannot. When I write outside Harper's voice, I am writing for myself and attempting to be held accountable for the words in some parrhesiastic sense, whether I am speaking artistically, politically, ethically, etc. When I write in Harper's voice, I am still attempting to write fearlessly but with a clear remove from myself and those that I love so that no one is confused as to what's what and who is who.
One final note. This is a new update to my blog and so I will gradually be making sure that archives reflect the name of Isa Harper as their "author." But this will take time. If you see something and you think, that doesn't sound like the Frank Hill I know... write a comment (I love getting them!) and tell me. You might find out that I simply misattributed the thing. Or you might learn something new about the Frank Hill you know. :)
The biolographical details of Harper's existence will emerge over time. They are, to say the least, sketchy at this time.
But then again, what would we expect from him - he's a sketchy guy. ;)
