The Red Book by Carl Jung
Only in the last few years has this manuscript by Carl Jung been available to the public tho its existence has long been known. Parts have been offered publicly (by Jung himself) but not until a few years ago have Jung's heirs and executors allowed the work to see print. I have only skimmed it but it brings thoughts to mind.
Jung created The Red Book as an experiment in self-analysis. I have The Reader's Edition, which includes just Jung's text, not the paintings and calligraphy of Jung's original manuscript. A few years ago a facsimile edition was released. That much more expensive edition proved popular. You can get a taste of its visual effect here. Jung's technical ability as an artist surprises me, given his other preoccupations and studies. Obviously, much is lost in not having the visual element in this edition, but the reader's edition nonetheless suggests great possibilities.
If I understand correctly, Jung initially worked in what has come to be called The Black Book. Eventually, he transcribed work from that book into The Red Book. I presume this transcription formalized the project. He wasn't just outpouring, then, but making a concentrated effort.
This effort is one of deep self-analysis. Jung uses his own dreams and visions, and compares them to his studies of mythologies, in a search for internal meaning. He writes in first person but the I seems distant, the super ego. He attempts to separate himself from motivations and conflicts.
I am not at the point where I can comment too carefully on this work. I like the idea of it. Jung did show the manuscript to others but never prepared it for publication. Publication was not his prime purpose in creating this work. The writing and art that he did were tools of self-exploration.
Honestly, I cherish the idea of notebooks. In working on these books, Jung freed himself from the strictures of form. He wasn't just writing essays, wasn't just accessing one side of his brain. When you are unrestricted by form, when you can draw, paint, or doodle as well as write words, you have a larger field within which to work. Jung recounts dreams and visions here, memories and hopes. He quotes and interprets many Bible passages, and other arcane works.
I got a new sketchbook at the time that I bought this book. I do sketch, tho the concentration is an effort for me. I also use sketch books as places for general outpouring. I write in them. I also doodle, and draw cartoons and abstract shapes. I use notebooks in a perspicaciously informal way. A new notebook is a clear field. I think a book art possibility exists in doing this. That's something I wish to explore.
Jung's formal writing shows conclusions, or at least intimations thereof. That's what formal writing is. The Red Book reveals a process. Psychoanalysis is a process, one of revelation and release. For Jung, The Red Book constitutes an adventure or quest. He began working on it at a time of self-doubt. The creation of this work became a necessity for him.
I am only now taking the work I have done in notebooks more seriously. I have used them more as a release. I've rarely looked at them, rarely mined them. They represent a process of freeing myself, which I think holds true for Jung, as well. I am starting to think of my notebooks more preciously, as works, not exercises. Maybe Jung did the same thing.
As I noted, I have not read far into The Red Book. I speak of the idea of it at this time. The book comes complete with a thorough introduction of more than one hundred pages (fully one fifth of the book). The book simply feels vital to me.