The Shameless Lions Writing Circle: Lion 6

What Is This All About ?

The writers gathered here have adopted one of the 48 lions that appeared in "The Lions Of Lyon" series on the writing blog Shameless Words. By adopting a lion, the writers have become a member of this new writing circle. The lions have been posted in the sidebars of the writers' individual blogs, accompanied by a poem or piece of prose. Of course, it is hoped that the strength, luck and prestige of these mighty beasts will rub off on their owners! (Keep scrolling down to see the full listings of all members and their lions).

Lion 6:

Eugene

Artist behind the lion:

Nicolas Fafiotte (French designer)

Adoptive Writer:

Seamus at Shameless Words. Keeper/Tamer of the shameless lions.

Blog Description:

This will have to be a neutral kind of description because I can hardly praise my own blog, can I? As well as having an obsession with these lions from Lyon, and organising this writing circle, I produce a writing blog. It is a collection of poems, short stories, fiction extracts, book reviews, snippets of life, photos, paintings - as well as musings on writing, fiction and publishing. I am an Irish/NZ journalist who's been based in France since 1997.

Poem inspired by my lion:

look at this lion of life/in need of constant feeding/strange desires to roar at the day/forlorn and endearing yet violent and pouncing/innocent heads beautifully hovered/between his trembling jaw/drips from savage teeth on the skin/panting breath, burning tongue/games of irresistible danger.

About the lion's name:

Eugene is named after Eugene Ionesco, the Romanian playwright who lived in France. I wanted my lion to have a literary identity with a French connection. The patches of colour, the mad ensemble, the bright colours, reminded me of the absurd, which Ionesco was so good at. The lion was designed by someone called Fafiotte, which also sounds quite fun, and the work of Ionesco, while sometimes tragic, has an element of farce about it.

The Lions' History

The lions in the writing circle were born as part of a public exhibition in 2004 in Lyon, France: "60 lions, 60 places, 60 artists". La Biennale des Lions and Emma Productions are behind the project, headed by Doctor Mohamed Attia, and it is now an event that takes place every two years. Emma Productions has kindly given permission for images of the artists' work to be used in this writing circle. (Only 48 of the 60 lions are featured here). The details of the artists behind the lions can be found in the individual member listings. The sculptures were placed in public places across Lyon and at the end of the exhibition they were sold off, with the money going to the artists and charities. In 2006, Lyon linked up with the Italian city of Turin and produced 69 sculptures: 30 lions and 39 bulls. In 2008 the project will see Lyon linked up with Montreal. In 2010 it'll be the turn of Lyon-Canton and in 2012 Lyon-Frankfurt.

The individual members of the writing circle hold all rights to all of their original material published on this blog. Material may not be copied or reproduced in any form without their express permission. Seamus Kearney holds the copyright to the photos of the lions, but he has given the members explicit permission to make copies onto their own blogs. As the photos are considered in some countries (eg, France, USA) to be derivatives of the actual art work, and issues of intellectual property rights may come into play, Seamus Kearney has been given the kind permission of the organisers of the lions exhibition, and the holder of all related rights (Emma Productions/La Biennale des Lions), to use the images in this writing circle. The understanding is that this project is non-commercial, which means that members also agree not to use the lion images for commercial purposes.

6 comments:

L.M.Noonan said...: call me a menopausal crone/hag...but me finds this-kinda erotic. These days one must look for sex between the lines whereone one can, afterall the eyesight is failing, amongst other things; 27 May 2007 at 20:43
Unknown said...: Heh, Shameless, you sexpot!; 28 May 2007 at 02:13
Unknown said...: Mmm... it is a bit hot isn't it? Although Eugene is not a name that I would normally associate with games of irresistible danger!; 28 May 2007 at 08:42
S. Kearney said...: Blimey, that is some reading between the lines! I admit it's a little racy, but take a look at that lion! :) Not my fault. He eats raw fish.; 28 May 2007 at 15:58
gautami tripathy said...: Very kaleodoscopic lion and that poem inspired by him.; 12 June 2007 at 05:21
Anonymous said...: Hi, would you please pass this note along to Eugene? I invite him to come visit me on my new blog, Literary Lion of Lyon. He would probably recognize me from the blog’s title, but tell him Roary sent the invitation. Thanks.

Roary ^..^; 15 June 2007 at 19:40

The Shameless Lions Writing Circle

What Is This All About ?

Lion 6 - Shameless Words

6 comments:

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