To Livorno

A redacted update regarding research on Byron + Shelley … Part and parcel of an essay on the concept of exile and the anti-memoir/novella, Anima + Angel …

Image – IR 59/6 (envelope), “Board of Stamps: Legal Duty Office and Successors: Select Death Duty Accounts. SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe,” 1822. National Archives, Kew, London, England, UK. Photo: Gavin Keeney.

SHELLEY + BYRON

On June 11, back in London, I finished off the first draft of the submission for the [REDACTED] Essay Contest with a flourish provided by research on Byron and Shelley’s exile in Italy – i.e., the final touch being “reading into” a mesmerizing document found at the National Archives at Kew concerning a bequest of 2,000.00 GBP by Shelley to Byron via his Last Will and Testament, ca.1817, written in London, after the Swiss adventure, etc. (Byron was also, apparently, executor of the will.) The document in question was a handwritten set of notes crossing the years 1822 to 1844 – viz., from Shelley’s death to Shelley’s father’s death. The rationale for the bequest was a mystery, but it suggested the communitarian ethos (spirit) of Shelley and Byron’s relationship with and through the Romantic literary work of art … The [REDACTED] Essay (for the [REDACTED] Essay Contest), due July 31, was entitled “What is Consciousness?” The prize for this competition was [REDACTED] USD – a sizeable sum. It would take over half a year for the submission to play out (with the contest settled by jury and institutional decree). The essay now took the concept of exile to the limit (into the Empyrean and back), re-grounding it in the absolute necessity of fellowship and community, even unto death, with “death” inclusive of the Second Death associated with Francis of Assisi’s reading of ultra-contingency and Grace. Death, in the case of all High Romantics, is a second or third exile (exile from exile), or, perhaps, the cessation of exile and a return “home.”

Image – IR 59/6 (document), “Board of Stamps: Legal Duty Office and Successors: Select Death Duty Accounts. SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe,” 1822. National Archives, Kew, London, England, UK. Photo: Gavin Keeney.

[…]

TO LIVORNO

I also, finally, booked a flight via British Air (BA) to Pisa. The long route, as suggested by the ghost of R.S. Thomas in NW Wales, through Spain and the South of France, no longer made any sense. It would have to await another day. The stop in Arenys de Mar on the Costa Brava had fallen through, and flights to Barcelona and trains (plus hotel) to Pisa and Livorno would cost far more than the [REDACTED] GBP paid for the BA flight from London (LHR) to Pisa (PSA) on Wednesday, June 18.

Livorno was now shaping up as an opportunity to “perform” an homage to Shelley (and Byron). Could I possibly find signs of Shelley and Byron in Livorno, or would I have to hallucinate them in the spirit of Shelley and Byron?

How to get to Lucerne became the new question. The London-Zurich-London route (booked back on April 8, for [REDACTED] GBP) no longer made any sense either. Why return to London, after Livorno, to go to Lucerne? At least I had the good sense to make the Swiss Air booking refundable. I later detected (on May 28) Swiss Air flights from Ljubljana to Zurich, as possible Plan B. Livorno to Ljubljana could be via Venice … Venice-Ljubljana (their combined auspices otherwise known as “Aquileia”) was still my proverbial best estimate of Else-where – for “now” ... I also received an informal/formal invite to India during the week of “Shelley + Byron” … India could now follow Lucerne. Financial agency still seemed fairly sound (in place), even as costs escalated. The unresolved issue of where to stay in Zurich or Lucerne, for the Lucerne Summer School, had been kicked down the road; i.e., added to (“now”) how to get to Lucerne from Livorno.

Image – Contrails, West Ealing, London. Photo: Gavin Keeney.

[…]

MORAL RIGHTS + EXILE

As the departure for Livorno approached, I re-visited the draft submission for the [REDACTED] Essay Contest, adding a section on moral rights of authors. A visit to the Law Library at the IALS in Bloomsbury had provided another layer of intrigue – i.e., scholars of copyright law blaming the Romantics for creating moral rights on the back of the so-called myth of genius. This was semi-absurd, yet the argument could be made by failing to see that moral rights were actually a-legal rights assimilated to copyright law quite late and de-natured in the process such as to serve appropriation and protection of works by Capital. This recourse to moral rights in the context of an essay on exile made sense insofar as defending the Romantic conception of the literary work of art was also a defense of the voice of works. Any attempt at actually seeking exile would clearly invoke the right and rites of dissent, and the origin of moral rights was precisely a form of dissent, at least in terms of their earliest justification in the Enlightenment by Kant and Fichte. In the case of the Romantics, it could be said that their works were actually a form of exile, with the voice of works quite often becoming, simultaneously, the voice of exile. Curiously, the primary defense of moral rights in the Enlightenment emphasized the form of works over the content, distinguishing the voice from material (ontic) artifact. The rapid assimilation of moral rights to copyright then took the bizarre turn of turning the purpose of moral rights on its head – defending the book trade versus defending authors. Indeed, authors were complicit in this charade, but they mostly became so through their often-unfortunate dependence on the book trade.

In a rather amazing passage in her 2024 book, Moral Rights, Creativity, and Copyright Law: The Death of the Transformative Author, Australian law scholar Sarah Hook states the following:

“The Romantic conception of authorship […] promulgates the idea of a work being a representation of the personality of the author […] The Romantic movement individualised the role of authorship, establishing authenticity, attribution, and the biography of the author as critical elements of authorship. These claims were brought within an environment in which the authors themselves published anonymously, collaborated heavily, failed to acknowledge co-authors and collaborators, edited, and revised after publishing works, and plagiarised, copied, borrowed, translated, adapted, and clarified earlier works. While theorising and promoting the individual nature of authorship, their actions and their works reveal the more social nature of authorship.” Hook, “Conclusion: The Death of the Transformative Author,” pp. 159-68, in Sarah Hook, Moral Rights, Creativity, and Copyright Law: The Death of the Transformative Author (Abingdon: Routledge, 2024) p. 160 (italics added).

These arguments are made to devalue moral rights and attempt a “thin” version of copyright versus the “thick” version favored by rights holders. What is lost in translation is that moral rights should actually be transferred to works and rights owners should concede defeat. In the case of authors, “defeat” would actually constitute “victory” (freedom). In such a scenario, a true, free and open knowledge commons would emerge and the debauched 500-600-year history of copyright law would come to its appropriate conclusion. As an elective option, authors would have to lead the way – with “exile,” in this case, being the voluntary refusal of authorial privileges insofar as they serve Capital.

[…]

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Across the first weeks of exile, I found myself observing myself observing myself. This took the form of bearing witness to variations in physical and emotional sense, plus conscious and unconscious thought (meditations, internal monologues, and dreams). I was aware that I needed to counter doubt, even as I felt doubt intensely through the usual physical, mental, and emotional mechanisms associated with taking such risks.

As Livorno approached, I had stopped making plans – i.e., beyond merely getting to Livorno. Passage to Lucerne was the major issue (nightmare), plus where to stay once there. But it made no sense to speculate beyond possible “stations” en route to Lucerne. Getting to Livorno required all of my current attention. Once there, other things could be considered. Partly it was just getting out of the UK unscathed, without delays, cancellations, and the daily travesties of life in the UK. Getting to the airport, getting on the plane, exiting the plane, finding my colleagues in Pisa upon arrival, or finding them in Livorno. Either way, based on past nightmares (real and imagined), exiting the UK could be considered an a priori concern. They did seem to be masters of chaos.

The observations of the self, notably, included what could be called both latent and overt pathologies. These were the various stages of anxiety and the like that brought on strange psychological undercurrents. The undercurrents included anger at [REDACTED], disgust at [REDACTED], and the very odd discord of witnessing and/or hearing people engaged in [REDACTED], bringing on [REDACTED]. The latter took the form of [REDACTED], which I could always use if needed to finesse an “exit by malady,” in the manner of Nietzsche, if required. All I would have to do is tell all to be locked away for however long, wherever. The absurdities of it all struck me as symptom of the age – the rage and disgust and [REDACTED] signaling a type of inner rebellion against propriety. But I was also aware that the categorical rejection of the High Romantic lifestyle, encountered in various forms, but primarily through the research related to the ongoing essay on exile, instilled the self-reflection, which then led to the occasional self-loathing, which then led to the symptoms or pathologies, with the entire circle being socio-culturally engendered. At the rare moments of clarity and true faith, I could actually laugh at it all, even though, out of weariness, I felt that it might be better to just concede defeat and be done with attempting to salvage a life and “home” from what was increasingly an ongoing exercise in mere survival.

[…]

ALMOST TIME

Image – Almost 10:10. Photo: Gavin Keeney.

Reading The Guardian each day was not helpful. It only instilled in me that the world had gone mad. Even the cultural pages could not help. They exhibited all of the traces of the dying culture of neoliberalism. Any sign of a true Left position by The Guardian was immediately undermined by the rhetoric of the journalist. It was as if The Guardian was afraid of its own shadow. Already in desperate straits, it was going down due to its own incompetence. The bombast was extraordinary, with the journalism bordering on sensationalism. The UK was not the answer to my search for exile. It was too much like the USSA, even if Labour was supposedly in control. Ultimately, the great irony was that Labour had no control. The UK was still run by the dying neoliberal-capitalist autocracy and, when push came to shove, it would lurch right again.

[…]

I was on the platform at 5:00am for the Elizabeth Line train from West Ealing to Heathrow. The first train was scheduled for a 5:15am departure. Around 5:10am the notice of a first delay was announced. The train was still at Paddington. Several other people on the platform with luggage immediately bolted – i.e., turned and headed out of the station for an alternative route. Perhaps they had not observed the two-hour advisory for arrivals at Heathrow required to clear security, etc. I stood my ground. (I had predicted, based on past experience, that last-minute delays might occur. As back-up plan, I had 50.00 GBP and the number for Manor Cars at hand. But I would not invoke Plan B until it was clear that the Elizabeth Line was in the territory known as “severe delays.”) The “minor delays” became rolling delays, with frequent reports on the progress of the train. By 5:30am it had departed Paddington and was stuck somewhere between Acton and Ealing Broadway. The 05:39 arrival at Heathrow T5 would now be “whenever.” Eventually the train’s destination was changed. It would now terminate at Hayes & Harlington, skipping Heathrow altogether. There were two other Elizabeth Line trains to follow, one scheduled to arrive at West Ealing at 5:36am and another at 5:46am. Would they also be delayed? The “05:15” eventually arrived at West Ealing at about 5:46am, about half an hour late. The other two, if not further delayed, would probably also be about a half hour late. I awaited the “05:36.” It, too, now had rolling delays, but it finally arrived only about 15-20 minutes late. It did not go to Heathrow T5, but I could get to Heathrow T2 & 3 and then change to Heathrow Express to get to T5. Off we went and I eventually arrived at Heathrow T5, cleared security, and reached the departures hall with about 45 minutes to spare before my BA flight to Pisa.

The flight to Pisa headed East, passing over Paris and then taking a hard-right turn near Zurich. Somewhere down below was my next destination following Livorno – i.e., Lucerne. We arrived in Pisa in good time and immigration made no objections regarding my “travel plans” – i.e., they asked no questions such as had been asked upon arrival in London regarding where I was staying, where I was going next, etc. My worries regarding not having a round-trip ticket dissipated. For “now” it appeared to be acceptable, by immigration (passport control) to travel semi-spontaneously – without all travel plans and bookings made in advance. This was, in many ways, the “old way,” fast disappearing behind a wall of electronic scrutiny and the slow tightening of borders. Eventually the EU would invoke the same rules that the UK invoked in January 2025, requiring electronic visas, plus whatever other hassles they wished to throw in the path of wanderers. Thus, my favored point of entry and exit from the EU remained “Italy.” I found it all quite gracious and unassuming. Perhaps the best word to describe it is “genteel.” I could only hope that it would not become necessary to describe it “as such” in the past tense.

[…]

In Livorno, my two artist-friends who were graciously putting me up for “however many days and nights” (probably around ten) gave me a quick car tour of Livorno, pointing out the layout of the small city and telling stories about its culture of resistance (including its antipathy to Pisa). It apparently had no interest in tourism and enjoyed a fairly laissez-faire relationship with popular culture. Given that I would be looking for “Shelley + Byron,” I then realized that my search would be primarily a stealth operation. There would most likely be no official “branding” of their time in Livorno, and I would have to simply track their movements and presence by their current absence. It would all be “metaphysical” versus “physical,” even if I were to find actually existing locations and actually existing buildings they once inhabited.

[…]

After the car tour of Livorno and a few hours of “catching up” on various things, I took a solo walk to acquire tobacco, but also to attempt to “sense” the city. We were near the waterfront on Via Lepanto, and I only needed to walk a few blocks to view the Ligurian Sea. On the way back from the tobacconist, I surprised myself and detoured into a café perched above the rocky shoreline where bathers and sunbathers were perched in the late-afternoon, early evening sun. I had two glasses of rosé wine at La Baracchina Bianca and finally exhaled. I had “arrived.” For whatever reason, and for however briefly, anxiety dissipated. Could be the wine, yes. Or it could be the view to the sea, plus the luminous presence of a rather magical church at Piazza San Jacopo in Acquaviva (i.e., Chiesa di San Jacopo in Acquaviva).

DAY TWO IN LIVORNO

On Day Two in Livorno, I awoke to the now-familiar sense of staring into the abyss. The horoscope for Libra for June 19 (from Cainer Horoscopes) strangely stated the following:

“Since staring into the abyss has a mesmerising quality, surely it makes sense not to look? But it’s not that simple. If we avert our eyes, don’t we risk losing our bearings and stumbling over the edge? Maybe we should put up signs in our minds, that remind us that there are areas we need to avoid? The difficult route you’re currently navigating necessitates having your eyes wide open. But in the approach to the Solstice, you’ll realise that the danger you were anticipating has dissipated. Soon, you’ll be able to move with ease.”

The week-ahead horoscope for Libra, on Sunday, June 15, had suggested the same existential coordinates:

“Are you ready to set forth on a journey? It doesn’t necessarily involve packing a suitcase and heading off to distant climes; in fact, it’s more likely to be a metaphorical adventure. It involves a leap of faith. When we look at the map of a route it gives us little insight into the actual experience. Similarly, you know the path forward you need to take; it’s just that you’re finding it hard to imagine it being part of your reality. But this week, with lucky, wise Jupiter linking to Saturn and then Neptune, you’ve got the courage to make a start.”

Had that start been undertaken by exiting London on Wednesday, June 18? Probably so. Last UK indignities had included paying roughly 30.39 GBP for a pouch of American Spirit tobacco and 15.00 GBP to top-up my O2 sim card in the hopes that it would work in Italy. I also had to switch to an O2 “Big Bundle” to have access to 25GB of data (which I did not need), 50 international minutes of calls (which I did not need), and unlimited texts (which I did need). At the O2 shop in Shepherd’s Bush, where I went to change my plan, I spent about half an hour on the phone with O2 customer service changing the plan (it could not be done in the shop) and then paid the piper for “access” to international service. I promptly attempted to text my friend in Livorno, to establish contact in advance of my arrival there and the text “failed.” Repeated attempts to re-send it also failed. I then simply called my friend in Livorno and the call went through. I could call Italy, but I could not text Italy. I walked out of the O2 shop half-satisfied. At least I had half of what I needed. UK texts still worked fine. Texts from Italy to the UK, after arrival in Livorno, then also worked fine. Something else was afoot and I simply kicked it down the road. I did note, however, that certain countries now required 4G service for text and calls. The US had been the first, of course, to phase out the 2G network. Europe was slowly doing the same. My Doro 1370 dumbphone (bought for calls and texts while in Europe) was 2G. I tried to recall when I had purchased it. Perhaps the early 2020s. I had an A1 sim card in Slovenia and an O2 sim card in the UK. I swapped them out depending on where I was at any given moment. Of course, the phone was useless in the US. My US smartphone was, of course, useless in the UK or Europe unless I opted to pay ridiculous roaming fees.

Last UK economic (late-capitalist) indignities disposed of, I was, as of Day Two in Livorno, returning to “work at hand.” This included updating Anima + Angel, the anti-memoir/novella tracking the EO1 agenda (now inclusive of exile), which had, as of June 19, reached 22,722 words. The symmetry of the number somehow pleased me – 2-2-7-2-2. What else was needing attention, besides the Lucerne (mis)adventure, was the Ca’ Foscari MSCA application, intentionally deferred until I actually returned to Italy, and partly deferred given that I had offered the EO1 project to ZRC SAZU in Ljubljana and was awaiting word as to whether they were interested. Yet, the clock was ticking on finding a sponsor at Ca’ Foscari, given it was summertime and that everyone might run away for long-overdue holidays, etc. These two projects (though actually one project) were increasingly subject to the existential coordinates suggested in the Libra horoscope for the week of June 15 to 22. “Exhaling” in Livorno now included awaiting next signals from the benevolent cosmos regarding next moves. Each time I considered looking again at how to get to Lucerne, I would back away. It was, as of June 19, ten days away. Yet, ten days can, at times (and under certain skies), be an eternity – and “eternity” certainly seemed to offer as much time as required to contemplate “next moves.”

There was also the issue of the Visa-D application in Slovenia. I awaited word from the Ministry of Culture regarding supporting it, the last major hurdle before making the application. Receiving that letter of support was the only thing that could, at the moment, prompt me to return voluntarily to the USSA, since the formal application had to be made at the Slovene Embassy in Washington.

[…]

OUTTAKES