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The lives of some are told through published biographies, but all of us write our own story through the way we live the Gospel
By Chris McDonnell | United Kingdom
Our natural curiosity leads in many directions. For instance, we tell stories about others, we listen to narratives of their lives, we read about other people.
Sometimes this is frivolous, of little long-term importance, a passing thought, here today and gone tomorrow. It's the stuff of newspapers anxious for the immediate story that fuels current interest but quickly fades.
A biography that is worth its salt is both informative and analytic. It seeks to explore a life through balanced research with opinions checked and sourced as far as possible. There has to be integrity in the resultant publication, a respect for relationships in the quest for truth.
A biography has to ask a number of questions -- where specific events took place, when they took place and in what circumstances, what actually happened, why it happened and what the consequences were.
But what is the reason for writing a biography at all?
Usually biographies are written about a person of some significance, someone already known for their contribution, someone about whom we would like to hear greater detail.
The great and the good whose story we feel is attractive, or those whose lives have in some way affected society in a detrimental manner.
Our curiosity gets the better of us.
The Gospel is not a biography of Jesus!
It is a mistake to consider the Gospel narratives as biographies of Jesus of Nazareth. They are not! They are part of a scriptural story of the encounter between God and humankind.
The Gospels are full of chronological holes, with no detail between the birth narrative, the flight into Egypt and the presentation in the temple. Then there is the long silence before the public ministry of Jesus.
The Gospel accounts do not tell the story of Jesus' his life. Rather, they are a development of the scriptural revelation of God through the Christ.
Their background is very different, written as they were so many years later and without the resources that biographers have at their disposal.
They unwrap a teaching about a way of life or an intention of purpose that brings the story of salvation to our attention in a strong and meaningful manner. They teach us how to be in relationship with each other and with God.
They are certainly not a series of day-to-day stories about Jesus of Nazareth, but rather about his relationship with the Father and our relationship with God.
Scripture and Tradition are two channels of Revelation.The Second Vatican Council speaks of God as the only source of anything. The Gospels teach us how to be in the manner in which we do.
Each of us write our own story by the manner in which we live the Gospel.
What makes a good biography?
A good biography is informative, tells a story in language that holds our attention, a story in which we feel assured that truth is being told, that is reliably sourced, a story that hangs together.
We come away from reading it with a greater sense of knowledge and understanding, a deeper appreciation of the journey that someone else has followed, with all its pitfalls.
Having just finished a biography of Sylvia Plath -- The Silent Woman, by Janet Malcolm --, I was struck by the complexities the author describes in Plath's relationship with the poet Ted Hughes and the manner in which other biographers have approached the same subject.
Malcom's book is very informative, not only for the light it shines on Platt's life, but also for the analysis it offers of biographical writing.
The biographer has a fine line to follow. He or she must respect the feelings that others -- relatives, friends and associates -- have toward the subject . Yet the author must also write an account that is truthful and accurate, to the best of his or her knowledge.
There is always the need for balanced writing where the edge of privacy is respected and permission to quote from difficult sources is sought.
Some people have more than one biographer when a number of different individuals take it upon themselves to put pen to paper.
Some might be close friends who want to tell their story of a particular relationship, maybe only writing a brief memoir that highlights a particular event.
Such material becomes a valued archive for others who want to examine in greater detail and in a dispassionate manner a life and its consequences. Each brings to the table their own perspective and it inevitably influences their writing.
The stories of our own lives
It is now five years since Leonard Cohen died.
And a few weeks ago a new biography this famous Canadian poet, song writer and singer was published by Harry Freedman. It's called Leonard Cohen: The Mystical Roots of Genius, and I'm very much looking forward to reading it.
Cohen was deeply steeped in Judaism and Christianity, the spiritual traditions that underpinned his self-identity and the way he made sense of the world. His music is filled with allusions to the Jewish and Christian traditions.
He originally aspired to become a poet, before turning to song writing and eventually recording his own compositions. Later, he became immersed in Zen Buddhism, moving in 1990 to a Zen monastery on Mount Baldy, California where he remained for some years.
There is some irony in that Cohen died on November 7, 2016, the day before Donald Trump was elected as President of the United States, leaving behind a musical and poetic legacy that will be felt for generations to come.
In any biography it is important that the quality and veracity of source material is of good standing.
How far can the story that's being told be trusted? Where is the evidence?
Of course, when the subject is still alive there's the question of his or her involvement in the text.How far is the biographer being influenced in order to present a flattering portrait?
Stories of our own lives may never be published in a biography. But they live on in the memory of family and friends.
The memory of each of us on our own particular journey, a path littered with joys and tears, one step at a time.
Chris McDonnell is a retired headteacher from England and a regular contributor to La Croix International.
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