Nana was my introduction to Émile Zola. I bought a copy of it way back in the 70’s when I was living in Cape Breton. It floored me. I knew he was writing, publishing in France at the same time Dickens was publishing in England. Both wrote about class, labour, family but that’s where the resemblance ends. Zola wrote adult fiction full of drugs, druggies, adulterers, prostitution, social disease and nice people too.
Nana floored me with its frank sexuality. No classic novel I’d read by Scott, Stevenson, even Dostoyevsky approached this level of sexuality. At points he delves into the lesbian subculture of Paris that still amazes me today. It certainly wasn’t what I expected in a novel of that time & also showed me that there is a hidden gay history too. Nana uses her sexuality to move up and down the class ladder. In fact all the women in Zola novels are clearly sexual beings, not always in control of it, not always giving into it.
He has a great grasp of human psychology from a time when human psychology wasn’t even a field of study. I have, on my Kindle, the complete works – which I hope to finish before I die 🙂 He was prolific & as a result as popular as Dickens. I bought the complete works to get the novels that are out-of-print in translation. As a result I can’t commune ton his ability as a stylist – the translations are good enough for me. His plotting is solid. Went, or more of them, are a family saga that rivals any daytime soap. The family tree of his fictional family is impressive, as was his ability to keep it organized. He was a social commentator who spared no one.
If you are unfamiliar I would recommend Thérèse Raquin, (http://wp.me/p1RtxU-Cx) or Nana. Germinal is also amazing & inspired my novel Coal Dusters – good too are L’Assommoir and La Bête humaine.
Plus he was very handsome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Émile_Zola#/media/File:Émile_Zola_by_Carjat.jpg
The Fault In My Chromosomes
there is a theory
that when the first atomic bomb
was exploded
the molecular structure of life
of our dna
as we know it
was changed
there’s always some explanation
for what went wrong
the first match
the first man
who looked at the moon
and thought
that’s not god
why am I blood-letting goats
to make sure
the moon will rise again
to insure sure we get good crops
us assuming that there is
some secret level of control
we can manifest
if we find the right path
we can work down
to the chromosomal level of life
get at the delicate tissue
to harness it
or our our personal gratification
then everything would work out swell
no war
no struggle
no hunger disease
no TV – that’s going too far
what if the atomic structure of life
was changed by the first TV broadcast
what if those beams
were controlling us humans
telling us what to say
what to wear
what to eat
when to go out
how many layers of clothing we need
that would never happen
we can’t be manipulated
at the cellular level by a cell phone
electronic conveniences are our tools
we aren’t their tools
they do our bidding
they have no control over who we love
over how often we hook up
they don’t conspire against us
we are in control at all times
we can turn them off
see I’ve set my cell phone to no ring
I can leave it that way for hours
often I don’t even check for texts
some people can’t imagine that at all
somedays I don’t turn on my TV for hours
don’t check my email
I am always in control of my universe
when the first atomic bomb
was exploded
molecular structure was changed
so I am not responsible for my actions
nothing is ever my fault
every Tuesday 2019
June – Capturing Fire 2019 – Washington D.C. 
capfireslam.org
August 2-13: getting back to my roots in Cape Breton 
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Hey! Or you can give me $$$ to defray blog fees & buy coffee in Washington at 2019’s capfireslam.org – sweet, eh? paypal.me/TOpoet
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