The First Day: Albert Camus Meets Crazy Horse in the Kingdom: A Metaphysical Drama in Seven Acts

By Len Blanchard

The seven acts of the drama The First Day are set in the Kingdom of the Great Spirit as this Kingdom might have been imagined by Crazy Horse, the legendary war chief of the Lakota Sioux who was assassinated by the U.S. government in 1877, after he had surrendered. The action occurs on January 5, 1960 when Crazy Horse welcomes the French philosopher and writer Albert Camus to the Kingdom. Camus had been killed in an automobile accident the night before. Following introductions, the two begin a walk that lasts from dawn to dusk and traverses a variety of landscapes. Periodically they stop to converse with others in the Kingdom. These include Native Americans Chief Joseph and Chief Seattle, Jesus, and the poets Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and Federico Garcia Lorca. Walt Whitman is accompanied by a young friend named Jimmy, and Jesus finds himself leading a band of some twenty children.

The travelers discuss various subjects, personal, historical and philosophical. Their principal interest, however, is the mysterious Almighty Power whose grace makes possible their eternal life. Considering this mystery, they also discuss justice and injustice among mortals, why men who struggled to do good often suffered at the hands of those who did evil, and whether poets and poetry are an influence for good in the affairs of mortals.


At the end of the day, having bid good day to their fellow travelers and sitting on a mountain ledge overlooking expansive valleys as the night sky is illuminated by an astounding show of lights, Crazy Horse and Camus are joined by Socrates. Socrates explains why it is no evil on Earth can ultimately hurt a virtuous person and how it is the Almighty is revealed to humans during their mortal lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477249321

Len Blanchard

Len Blanchard holds a B.A. degree in English from Washington and Lee University and a Ph.D. in English from Emory University where he was an NDEA Fellow. Employed for several years as a corporate and business writer in Dallas and Little Rock, he began writing seriously upon his relocation to Florida in 1990. Since 1999, he has taught as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Language and Literature at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. In 2001, Blanchard published through AuthorHouse An American Passion, an epic narrative poem on the life of Crazy Horse, the great war chief of the Oglala Lakota Sioux. He is also the author of hundreds of poems. A few of these poems celebrating the life of the beaches of the Florida coast were published in a collection entitled Provocations of the Birds and the Beach in 2005 by Bellowing Ark Press of Seattle. In 2012, Blanchard published through AuthorHouse a metaphysical drama entitled The First Day: Albert Camus meets Crazy Horse in the Kingdom and another collection of poems, People Matter: Sarasota Portraits and Others. His poems have appeared in numerous national magazines and journals, and he has been nominated on three occasions for a Pushcart Prize. A native of Connecticut, he is now at home in Bradenton, Florida.

Book preview

T HE FIRST DAY:

ALBERT CAMUS MEETS CRAZY HORSE IN THE KINGDOM

(A METAPHYSICAL DRAMA IN SEVEN ACTS)

LEN BLANCHARD

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© 2012 by Len Blanchard. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/31/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-4931-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-4930-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-4932-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012913382

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE ARTIST

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE CAST

THE CAST BY SCENE

PROLOGUE JANUARY 5, 1960

ACT I

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Scene 5

ACT II

Scene 1

Scene 2

ACT III

Scene 1

Scene 2

ACT IV

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

ACT V

Scene 1

Scene 2

ACT VI

Scene 1

Scene 2

ACT VII

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A native of Connecticut, Len Blanchard is now at home in Bradenton, Florida. He holds a B.A. degree in English from Washington and Lee University and a Ph.D. in English from Emory University. Employed for several years as a corporate and business writer in Dallas and Little Rock, he began writing seriously upon his relocation to Florida in 1990. Since 1999, he has taught as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Language and Literature at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. In 2001, he published through AuthorHouse An American Passion, an epic poem on the life of Crazy Horse, the great war chief of the Oglala Lakota Sioux. He is also the author of hundreds of poems. A collection of these poems celebrating the life of the beaches of the Florida coast and entitled Provocations of the Birds and the Beach was published in 2005 by Bellowing Ark Press of Seattle. Among the national magazines and journals in which his work has appeared are The Greensboro Review, Whetstone, South Carolina Review, Reed, Gulf Coast, Spillway and Roanoke Review. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize on three occasions.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Judy Just is a painter, printmaker and book artist. She holds a B.F.A. degree from Washington University and has studied in Greece and Mexico. Her work is noted for its color and energy, and she has exhibited in Europe, New York, Florida and New Mexico. She has won numerous awards and is in public and private collections. Having recently returned to Sarasota, Florida after more than fifteen years living and teaching in Santa Fe, she is enjoying the beach, biking, cooking and life with her two rescue cats, Leo and Baby Girl. The abundant flora and fauna of Florida will be informing her future work. Even as she remodels her 1950s vintage house, Judy is looking forward to teaching printmaking and bookarts in Sarasota. This is the second book by Len Blanchard she has illustrated. Her work may be viewed on the Web, at judyjust.com.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The germ for The First Day was planted during a seminar on the work of Albert Camus which I led in January-March of 2010 as a faculty member of Pierian Spring Academy in Sarasota, Florida. Years earlier I had published an epic poem on Crazy Horse, and at some point during my discussions with the members of this class I heard Crazy Horse and Albert Camus speaking to each other. This dialogue led to a poem which grew into this play. This play, in other words, could never have happened without the passionate, intelligent and perceptive engagement of the following seminar participants, to all of whom I am grateful: Donna Demuth, Melvin Klein, David Lionel, Martin McHugh, Jean Mitchell, Marjorie Phillips, Wendy Underwood, and Jim Underwood.

The illustrations throughout The First Day are the work of Judy Just, an artist and friend whose contribution enhances my text as only an effective image can. For this visual enhancement, I extend my gratitude.

L.B.

THE CAST

THE CAST BY SCENE

Crazy Horse and Albert Camus are present in all seventeen scenes of the play. They are the only characters in the prologue and the five scenes of Act I. Otherwise, the speaking roles in the scenes from Act II to Act VII are noted by scene below.

PROLOGUE

JANUARY 5, 1960

In which Crazy Horse greets Albert Camus in the Kingdom of the Great Spirit immediately following Camus’ death in a car accident. Also known as Heaven, Paradise, Nirvana, the Afterlife and by other names, the indescribable realm in which Camus now finds himself eternally at home is that realm which Jesus referred to during his ministry on Earth as the Kingdom of God or of the Father.

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ACT I

THE FIRST DAY

Scene 1

There are mountains in the distance, a range of sloping hills the summits of which are veiled by clouds, diaphanous, and tinged with a golden light as if by a honey-tinted sun. Still, no sun is visible. As the two men walk with a reflective pace toward the horizon Crazy Horse drops his arm from around Albert Camus’ shoulders. They continue walking side-by-side as they begin to consider the power of human love and the effects of injustice in the affairs of men on Earth.