Monday, February 28, 2022

War Language (Poem)

War Language

 . . . poetry is not merely a description of an event;
it is an event
~ Ilya Kaminsky*


The threat is not speaking
Russian but watching

the tanks lay down
rough tracks in Ukraine.

Already, they've chewed up
the borders of Kharkiv,

spit on the words
from the City of Poets.

Every bullet becomes another
man's eye, every mortar

one more crushing blow
to the head, no body

with the time to argue
one side before the other.

There are shoes in the streets
of Kharkiv, feet herding

to shelter, children in pink
snow suits handed off

to strangers for safekeeping,
the speech of goodbye tears

breaking the silence
that follows the shelling.

Occupied and occupier

cleave the meaning
of war in Kharkiv, 
 
break it down
into fragments of sound —

one, the whistles of rockets;
one, the louder testimony of loss.
 
#StandWithUkraine
 
* Epigraph quoted from and poem inspired by Ilya Kaminksy, "Ilya Kaminsky on Ukrainian, Russian, and the Language of War", Literary Hub, February 28, 2022, as excerpted from Words for War: New Poems from Ukraine (Academic Studies Press, 2017), Oksana Maksymchuk and Max Rosochinsky, Eds.

 

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Thought for the Day

They saw rivers flow west and hoped again.
~ Muriel Rukeyser 

__________________________

Quoted from Muriel Rukeyser, "West Virginia", in The Essential Muriel Rukeyser: Poems (Selected and With an Introduction by Natasha Trethewey) (Ecco/HarperCollins), page 25

Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980), American Poet, Playwright, Biographer, Children's Book Author, Political Activist

Muriel Rukeyser Profiles at Academy of American Poets and Poetry Foundation


Sunday, February 20, 2022

Thought for the Day

It has long seemed to me that what most of us
are looking for is the opportunity to express,
without embarrassment or judgment or retaliation,
our capacity to love. That means, too, embracing
the opportunity to be loved, to ferret out and nurture
the reciprocated relationships that unite people. . . .
~ Barry Lopez
___________________________

Quoted from Barry Lopez, "Introduction: Looking for a Ship" in Horizon (Vintage Books, 2019), page 48

Barry Lopez (1945-2020), Award-Winning Author, Essayist, Nature Writer, Fiction Writer

Thursday, February 17, 2022

New Artist Watch Feature at Escape Into Life

 

Dana Ellyn, Trading Places (Disguised), Oil on Canvas, 2021
Oil on Canvas
14" x 18"
 
© Dana Ellyn
 
PLEASE  DO NOT COPY IMAGE
 
 
It is with great pleasure that I introduce via today's Artist Watch column in the international online arts magazine Escape Into Life the paintings of Washington, D.C., artist Dana Ellyn.

Dana is a painter of stories. She has a uniquely personal style that verges between social realism and expressionism and always depicts her own point of view, whether it be about animal rights and food choices, politics, Covid-19, or some other subject that has captured her imagination. She paints only what she knows, and only after doing considerable research and planning.

For February's Artist Watch, Dana has provided a generous number of images of recent paintings (both  2022 and 2021), as well as an Artist Statement and a brief biography.
 

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Thought for the Day

. . . it is the fever of our attachment to one another
that charges grief with its intolerable brilliancy. . . . 
~ Melanie Challenger
_________________________ 

Quoted from Melanie Challenger, "On Death and Love" (Part I), Emergence Magazine, January 20, 2022

Melanie Challenger, British Writer, Researcher on History of Humanity and Natural World, Environmental Philosopher, Author, Editor, Poet

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Thought for the Day

. . . it's the very notion of our humanity as both singular
and triumphal that has given our lives their ultimate meaning
and security. The only trouble is that it's a devastating idea
for the rest of the living world.
~ Melanie Challenger
_________________________

Quoted from Melanie Challenger, "On Death and Love" (Part I), Emergence, January 20, 2022

Melanie Challenger, British Writer, Researcher on History of Humanity and Natural World, Environmental Philosopher, Author, Editor, Poet