Of Arcs and Circles is an essay collection with a twist. The essays are not political. They hold no ulterior motive. There are no beginnings or endings. There are no messages, motives, goals or conclusions. There are no characters to follow. No psychological studies are cited. There are no climaxes. Nothing ever happens. And despite all, it is a warm, comfortable and calming read.

Marc Peter Keane doesn’t explain himself, but occasional clues make him out to be an American from the northeast, whose fascination with Japanese gardens took him to Kyoto, where he has been living quite happily for about 20 years. He seems to know the language and the culture inside out, and his garden designs impress even the Japanese. He is successful, confident, calm and married, with one son. His wife likes to make pottery, while he is all about garden design.

The book can be a little confusing at times because there is no date or location information. So an essay that actually takes place in New York City only reveals itself as such well into it. Then it’s right back in Kyoto, with no indication of that at all.

The essays can be about a daydream, meeting someone for coffee or tea, the social structure of termite society, the temporary nature of wood buildings in Kyoto, or the infinitesimally fine disciplines of serving tea or making flower arrangements. And gardens: lots on plants, rocks, sands and trees.

One of the essays, right in the middle of the book, actually takes a position. It’s the only one that does, so it sticks out. It’s a rant on art, and Keane’s take on what art is. The title is There is no such thing as art, if that’s any help. “There is no art in the gallery I had visited, none in any museum or private collection, because art is an emotion not a thing… The real art happened inside the artist.“ But there are works of art, he says. It is their job to transmit what went on inside the artist’s mind and body, where the art developed. He waxes nostalgic over craft, the years of training and practice that allow true artists to create perfect works to make the art experience vivid, real and clear. That discipline is vanishing in favor of the quick and dirty in artwork: “(Art) is the skillful manipulation of sensory markers, the control of the aesthetics of a work of art, that can result in the seduction of one’s audience, and it is that moment of enthrallment that is the key to creating a powerful work of art.”

This is most consistent with Keane’s approach to everything. He is all about sensations, visual, tactile, auditory… Every essay is an intimate and intricate description of something. It could be words or insects, water or soil, birds or houses, or the story of torri gates in Japanese temples. Keane doesn’t just see sand, he sees grains of feldspar or sandstone and how they travel in water.

These are long form koans: don’t try to assign meaning to the essays; just let them flow through you. Keane is heavily influenced by eastern philosophy and religions, taking the time to observe and absorb everything around him. It does not have to have meaning, it just is.

Here’s a paragraph to demonstrate all those points:
“Sit watching wasps build their nest out of a dissolved essence that a few seconds before was a screen made of lake reeds. Drift in rivers of cool mountain water that elicit other rivers of drifting thoughts. Sit next to a courtyard garden so small as to defy the name and watch an old stump decompose and grow at the same time. These are the wheels against which I lay myself knowing that will carry me beyond what I have already come to know.”

So, not your average essay collection then.

David Wineberg ( )