In the Labyrinth

Reading the Net: Medieval Raunchiness, A Character's Breakfast, and The Knowing

Three items that accompanied me this morning as I stumbled through coffee and then woke, grateful to the internet for making my morning so interesting, funny, and inspiring.

 

Band of Wild Petticoats blogger, Taiko Haessler takes a much needed break from studying for her upcoming Masters exam in Spanish Literature to share an "incredibly naughty, raucous poem written by a picaresque little priest from Medieval Spain. Juan Ruiz, the Archpriest of Hita, in El libro de buen amor (The Book of Good Love)." Hilarious.

 

The Guardian has an engaging article,The Sexist Meal, on the literary agenda of breakfast -- or more specifically what an author reveals in a character's breakfast. "When we do witness breakfast, it is usually because the author is trying to tell us something about the person eating it...Meticulous breakfast prep often signals violent tendencies, providing a bracing (or perhaps, for the breakfaster, soothing) contrast, an ultra-domesticity to balance out the brutality to come. And while I often write dinners, road trip lunches, and late night snacks, I see that I shall now have to give breakfast a bit more attention.

 

The Rumpus interviews poet and musician Joy Harjo about her new memoir, Crazy Brave, A Memoir. Harjo discusses the challenges she faced to be recognized as a Native American poet, her work in both music and poetry, and her writing process -- which should serve as an inspiration to anyone writing: "The “knowing” is a vast field of intelligence beyond mental clatter and any kind of dividing line. It can be seen as a being, and it is, many beings, and it is, a geometric flow, and it is—it is part of all of us, or, we are part of it. The intelligence is metaphor to the thousandth-plus power. It is small and it is large. Creative artists immerse themselves in this flow. You cannot force it. I believe you can feed it or turn your back on it; no matter—it is still dynamically at work." And do visit Poetry.org to read Deer Dancer -- one of her stunning poems.

Well Dressed Hens

I would absolutely knit shawls for chickens. They wear them well.

Tucson Winter: Snow and Sun

I woke this morning to the sight above -- snow blanketing all the mountain ranges on all four sides of Tucson. There was snow all the way down into the valley. It is such a rarity that everyone stops, gets out of their car, and takes pictures as though it were some miraculous event (sorry, a cell phone snap does not do justice! Clicking image should give a bigger version). What I love most -- beside the view -- is the expectation of hiking in the mountains on the following day, after the snow has melted and filled the little gorges in the canyons and the cataracts with fast flowing water and ice.

Just this time last week, I was hiking these mountains and getting sunburned! I suspect this charming rockman on the trail has probably acquired a snowy beard.

Be Awed By The Virtual Sistine Chapel

I love the internet. Especially when it provides the most astonishing opportunity to virtually visit the Sistine Chapel -- a fabulously clear 360 degree look at this complex and beautiful work of art. You can move every where -- throughout the ceiling and zoom in on the smallest of details. Although I have stood in the chapel and stared upward -- I wasn't able to view it in such amazing detail. Oh, it is really glorious!

Australian Artist Sophie Blackall: Missed Conections, Love, Lost And Found.

Sophie Blackall, a well known children's book illustrator, published an illustrated adult book, Missed Connections: Love Lost & Found -- based on classified ads that appear on Craiglists in New York from people who thought they might have made a connection with a stranger and were now seeking a second chance at meeting that person. Initially, Blackwell kept a blog (and still is) with illustrations derived from the "Missed Connections" classifieds, many of them reading like enigmatic flash fiction and eventually compiled the art and text into the book. The entries are funny, a bit melancholy or hopeful, and really compelling. Blackwell also used some of her favorite characters from the Missed Connection portraits in the subway murals she created that now adorn the subway trains as part of a larger art project for the New York subways. Her murals invite passengers to imagine their own stories of the people pictured.

Here's a video of her discussing her work -- both on Missed Connections and the New York Subway art projects.

 

And do stop by Design Matters to listen to Debbie Millman interview Sophie Blackall discussing her work -- including her illustrations for Aldous Huxley's only children's book, The Crows of Pearblossom. The book presented something of a challenge as the artist -- a self respecting feminist -- sought subtle ways to undermine the misogynist undertones of Huxley's writing. (via Brain Pickings)

Goblin Fruit: Winter 2013

Goblin Fruit has published its Winter 2013 Issue -- filled with wonderfulness as usual.  These are chilly poems, love poems, cooking poems, cautionary poems, and poems of winter sadness -- all wrapped up with snow and ice. Two of my favorites:

"Sleeping Beauty Makes Dinner" by Sally Rosen Kindred: "I woke — cold kiss, that snow! —/ I married you. And now/ afternoon, I'm in your kitchen/ bending through the tender heat," (This poem has a audio version read by the poet).

"Silver" by Andy Humphrey: "The silver man/ keeps a tarnished box/ full of the memories/ of all the fairy tales/ my mother used to tell."

A Valentine's Day Present: "Paperman," A Love Story.

This gorgeous animated film by first time director John Kahrs shows a potential new direction in the future of animated films. Kahrs combined the look of very traditional techniques of animation (hand drawn frames) with the fluidity of CGI (with its slicker techniques of Pixar) -- and produced this lovely, romantic retro-looking animation of two people who are clearly destined for each other.

Laura Ottina: Domestic Comforts

Laura Ottina has one of the most charming blogs Animalarium -- which features a wide range of art illustration and illustrators not well known in the United Sates. Her international selections are wonderful, eye-popping, funny. satiric, and dreamy. I have discovered so many artists on her pages that I might not have ever known had it not been for her blog. I do recommend it highly -- subscribe, you won't be sorry. Here are a few images from her most recent post "Domestic Comforts" which seems perfect for this mid-winter time of year. (Even here in Tucson it has been cold -- with a record number of freezing nights, and lots of snow in the mountains -- so these illustrations are most welcomed!)

Art from top to bottom: Catherine Zarip, Manon Gauthier, and Métier Illustrateur

Memory and Storytelling: What We Lose, What We Imagine, What We Steal

I have been working on a seminar for teachers on Creativity and while researching I came across a terrific article "Speak, Memory by neurologist Oliver Sacks and the lovely animated film above of Billy Collin's poem "Forgetfulness" that have me thinking about the role of memory in storytelling --not merely as an exercise in memoir -- but more importantly fulfilling a deeply embedded need to tell stories. We learn quickly to construct narrative in answer to almost any question about our day, our life, or our work. But according to neurologist Oliver Sacks, we really become creative with narrating long term memories -- giving them shape and form, creating dialogue, selecting images to emphasize how we feel emotionally about those memories. But we also appropriate memories that are not our own -- and braid them into our memories because the additional information makes better stories. "Memory," Sacks says, "is dialogic and arises not only from direct experience but from the intercourse of many minds." And like the paradox of fiction, our memories into story are both lies and truth. And then there is the opposite, as the Collin's poem suggests, grief at the loss of memory because it leaves us with fewer words and impairs our ability to tell stories.

 

The Feast Day of St. Brigid Who Loved Beer

I am so happy to celebrate St. Brigid's Feast Day -- especially as I have learned that in addition to being an excellent dairy maid (and therefore patron saint of farmers), she was especially fond of beer. We have been learning how to home brew beer (first batch was a successful dark beer with a mild head and not too bitter.) So as we begin our next batch (a lager this time) I will make my prayers to St. Brigid for a good brew and share this delicious poem she wrote -- she does make it sound like my kind of party. A great lake of beer!

The Heavenly Banquet
Ascribed to St. Brigid of Ireland

I would like to have the men of Heaven
in my own house;
with vats of good cheer
laid out for them.

I would like to have the three Marys,
their fame is so great.
I would like people
from every corner of Heaven.

I would like them to be cheerful
in their drinking.
I would like to have Jesus, too,
here amongst them.

I would like a great lake of beer
for the King of Kings.
I would like to be watching Heaven’s family
Drinking it through all eternity.

 

Art: John McKirdy Duncan, "St. Brigid of Kildare." Go here to see a very, very large file of this gorgeous and detailed painting.