May Their Memory (Poem)

Gerhard Richter, Kerze ("Candle"), 1983

Oil on Canvas

95 cm x 90 cm

~

Joyce Fienberg, 75

Richard Gottfried, 65

Rose Mallinger, 97

Jerry Rabinowitz, 66

Cecil Rosenthal, 59

David Rosenthal, 54

Bernice Simon, 84

Sylvan Simon, 86

Daniel Stein, 71

Melvin Wax, 88

Irving Younger, 69

Tree of Life, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 27, 2018

May their memory be for a blessing.

~

May Their Memory

May they go on

dreaming, these

faithful eleven —

"the regulars"

who opened doors

to one and all,

whose voices stilled

before Shabbat

began. O Tree of Life,

your Star of David

shattered, your limbs

rent in the peril

of prayers unheard.

Let us name them

and remember

the front-door greeters,

the first-to-arrive,

the synagogue-goers

bear-hugging in aisles,

the ones who helped

with everything.

May their memory

be our blessing.

Having seen their tears,

Your sorrow I saw.

Thought for the Day

Something that is truly beautiful cannot lie to you—

but something that seems beautiful can. . . .

~ Lauren F. Winner

_________________________________

Quoted from Lauren F. Winner, "Alphabetic Art" ("Lying") in Image, Fall 2018, No. 98, page 8 (Adapted from Winner's Plenary Address at Glen Workshop, August 2018)

Lauren F. Winner, Episcopal Priest (Vicar, St. Paul's, Louisburg, North Carolina); Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality, Duke Divinity School; Author; Lecturer

Thought for the Day

More than half the world is covered by water,

yet most of us are afraid of drowning.

~ Todd Davis

________________________________

Quoted from Todd Davis, "First Thoughts about God after Spying a Speckled Trout Eat a Green Drake" in Image, Fall 2018, No. 98, page 102

Todd Davis, Poet; Professor of English and Environmental Studies, Pennsylvania State University (Altoona College)

Todd Davis at Image and Poetry Foundation

Saturday Short

Enjoy this Saturday short, a look at Dana Gioia's "Progress Report". The poetry video is from Blank Verse Films and was made in California's Sonoma County.

New Artist Watch Feature at Escape Into Life

Jeanie Tomanek, Paper Doll, 2017

Oil, 40" x 30"

© Jeanie Tomanek

PLEASE DO NOT COPY IMAGE

It is my delight today to present in this month's Artist Watch column images of some of the unique and often-moving paintings of self-taught artist Jeanie Tomanek of Marietta, Georgia.

Jeanie, who began a full-time career as an artist at age 50, is drawn to literature, folk-tales, and myths that inspire her to explore the feminine archetype. She uses trees, flowers, birds, and snow as symbols for emotional states or story elements.

Today's Artist Watch column showcases images of eight recent paintings, Jeanie's Artist Statement, and a brief biography, as well as Jeanie's social media. Her commanding work rewards viewers willing to look slowly and carefully at the figures who represent "Everywoman".

Thought for the Day

. . . Reading a life is like reading a poem—

full of ambiguity, which involves consciousness

that we are reading. . . .

~ David Mason

__________________________________

Quoted from David Mason, "Neruda's Voice" (Book Review), The Hudson Review, August 2018

David Mason, American Poet, Essayist, Editor, Teacher; Former Poet Laureate of Colorado

David Mason's numerous poetry collections include The Sound: New & Selected Poems (2018), Sea Salt, Poems of a Decade: 2004-2014 (2014), Arrivals (2004), The Country I Remember (1996), and The Buried Houses (1991). He also is the author of the verse novel Ludlow (2007; 2nd ed., 2010), the literary memoir News from the Village (2010), and the essay collections The Poetry of Life and the Life of Poetry (1999) and Two Minds of a Western Poet (2011).

David Mason Interview at Connotation Press (September 2018)

A funeral . . . (Poem)

A funeral can turn you

inside out,
leave you questioning

the love
you could measure

by distance traveled,
calls made,

the daily accounting
of weather.

Whatever's changed
should be forgiven

but tell me how
does the heart forget

it's been broken.

Thought for the Day

. . . [A] meter-high fence is not a sign of strength but a sign

of fear. A sign of the fear of being questioned. Fear of loss,

poverty, and death. That is our fear, and it is no different

from the fear of the people on the other side of the fence. . . .

~ Jenny Erpenbeck

_____________________________

Quoted from Jenny Erpenbeck, "Blind Spots: The 2018 Puterbaugh Keynote" in World Literature Today, July-August 2018, page 63

Jenny Erpenbeck, Award-Winning German Writer, Opera Director (Erpenbeck's most recent novel is Go, Went, Gone (2015; New Directions Reprint, 2017), awarded the Thomas Mann Prize and the Permio Strega Europeo.)

James Wood, "A Novelist's Powerful Response to the Refugee Crisis",  The New Yorker, September 25, 2017 (This article is about Go, Went, Gone, as translated by Susan Bernofsky.)

The Puterbaugh Festival of International Literature & Culture