( introduction. )

Recently I was at an academic Cultural Studies conference, and during a social gathering one evening, the subject of pornography came up in the conversation. I gave the standard “freedom of the press” argument, and also argued that since it is hard to draw the line between eroticism and pornography, how in any given instance can we be so certain that a picture or more grandly a “work of art” is degrading? A young woman who was present replied that her own experience told her that pornography was degrading and wrong.
It turned out that she had been married to a man obsessed with pornography, who insisted on taking her to porn films, and thence into bondage sessions, where he falsely promised he “wouldn’t hurt her.” It was, for me, a sudden glimpse into the Hell which had been her life. Finally, she escaped from the marriage, but for obvious reasons, she remains bitter about men, about pornography. She now directs a center for abused women and children.
Janet Kuypers has gazed into this Hell also, and is determined to preserve and transmit the lived record of its regions so that, perhaps, others can avoid pain and suffering. She insists that we resolutely examine the roots of our society’s obsession with owning and buying and shaping and dominating, which much of the time is men ruling women. I often feel as if she is attempting, in her work, to exorcise the demons that grip America in the name of freedom and “family values.”
I’ve argued elsewhere that America is in spite of its claims to be a democracy, an empire, that empires by their nature rot from within, and find themselves unable to reverse their decline. I still think that is probably the case, but surely telling the truth about our condition is worthwhile anyway. It is even possible that if enough truth is known, we might yet fulfill the promise of our nation.
The style of writing here is direct, honest and searching, but also illuminating. We anticipate that something bad is going to happen in the narrative, but we never know exactly what in advance. But that’s not all. Sometimes a woman will find her way out to freedom, to love. Or there might be a revelation, as when a guy gets a cigarette put out on the back of his hand. This is a message, a warning, that there will be resistance.
The truth isn’t always pretty. What we have done to women isn’t pretty. The paradox is that women are socialized to make themselves as “pretty” as possible, according to the false standards of male fantasies. I’m especially impressed by Janet’s designed texts, which demonstrate in graphic form how women are viewed in our culture. Pay attention to the language, to the images, and we can see. Yes, we can all see.

OEUVRE

Janet Kuypers
http://www.JanetKuypers.com
JKuypers@scars.tv
ISBN# 1-891470-22-1
$16.22

Scars Publications and Design
827 Brian Court, Gurnee IL 60031-3155 USA
Editor@scars.tv
http://scars.tv

in conjunction with Penny Dreadful Press
and assistance from Freedom & Strength Foundation, Troy Press, Hawthorne Press & Dried Roses Press

first edition
printed in the United States of America

copyright @ 2004 Scars Publications and Design
writings @ 1979-2004 Janet Kuypers
book design @ 1998-2004 Scars Publications and Design

This book, as a whole, is fiction, and no correlation should be made between events in the book and events in real life. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.

Information about past books is available upon request through Scars Publications and Design. Materials from the literary magazines “Children, Churches and Daddies” and “Down in the Dirt” are available on line at http://scars.tv, as are .mp3 files, .ra files, .aif files, .au files, .wav files .mov and mpeg files of Kuypers, both reading her work and singing with three sets of musicians.

Oeuvre is published through Scars Publications and Design, whose publisher is a member/minister through the Universal Life Church. Scars Publications and Design, the logo and associated graphics @ 1979 - 2004. All rights reserved. Kuypers and Scars Publications and Design welcome your comments, tips, compliments or complaints. Direct all comments and suggestions to the e-mail addresses listed above.

The definition of oeuvre (the works of a writer, painter, or the like, taken as a whole) is from the Websters Unabridged 2001 Dictionary.