1/17/2020 POETRY: SHARAnya manivannanRIVER* When you leave, take with you the way light shimmered gold in the river, how the weight of what you loved swirled into filigreed gold in the river. That was how it felt to me, as the eventide of the annihilated dream, when I first crossed into illumination at the threshold of the river. There were mapmakers before me: their footfalls fade tender on the earth. Like you, they brought palms of amaryllis, asked to be consoled by the river. There's a pond in the forest whose water only ripples where you weep. But here, all ruptures. Let your heart flood, uncontrolled, into the river. Listen: the saga unbraids. Loyalties shift, fish-dappled in her surge. You can no more submerge a story than you can hold a river. Carry all you can into the world, a tributary. But pilgrim, linger a little. Sit a while beside me. There are renderings still untold in the river. * This poem is from Sharanya Manivannan's second collection, The Altar of the Only World (HarperCollins India, 2017). Sharanya Manivannan is the author of five books of fiction, poetry and children's literature, including the novel The Queen of Jasmine Country, which was longlisted for the 2019 JCB Prize, longlisted for the Mathrubumi of the Year Award 2020, shortlisted for The Hindu Prize 2019, and the short story collection The High Priestess Never Marries, which won the 2015-2016 South Asia Laadli Media and Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity (Best Book – Fiction).
1/17/2020 POETRY: STEVE MCORMONDTWO POEMS BY STEVE MCORMOND DARK CLOUDS (ANOTHER APOCALYPSE) The clouds rolled in and never left. Lightning in them but no rain. Life, as Auden observed, went on disinterestedly. There was the tuna casserole to keep from burning, the dog whimpering to be let out. Panels of experts convened on TV to discuss the subterranean rumblings, the preponderance of messianic cults. We perked up at the gory bits, the jumpers and self-immolations, rituals involving goat’s blood. Accustomed to instant gratification, we wanted our apocalypse now. How many times could we say goodbye before we grew bored, turned a blind eye? We had fetishes to attend to, money to make and spend. Years since we’d seen the stars, they ceased to cross our minds. No, never any rain. ENVOI What advice can I give, my fledglings, my little vanishings, as you pack your things and prepare to leave? Everything is fine, the sky has been falling a long time. My wisdom in short supply, these words must seem vague and kitschy like the Lord’s Prayer painted on a grain of rice. Already you are better than me. Each generation is and should be incomprehensible to its parents. We will want to go quietly. Don’t let our grey hair keep you from meting out the judgment we’re due. Love immoderately and permit yourselves rage. Anger makes things happen. The mob is gospel. And to those who claim it couldn’t be stopped: At every point along its path, the arrow is still. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS "Dark Clouds (Another Apocalypse)" and "Envoi" from The Good News about Armageddon (Brick Books, 2010). Steve McOrmond is the author of four books of poetry, most recently Reckon (Brick Books, 2018). He lives in Toronto. www.stevemcormond.com 1/14/2020 ART: AUDE MOREAUTHE BLUE LINE La ligne bleue (maquette, 2013) Inkjet print on paper, 44 x 85 cm (17 x 33.5 inches) The Blue Line Project proposes to draw a line of blue light across the night skyline of Lower Manhattan. Positioned at 65 meters¹ (213 feet) from the ground, the height of the glowing line will correspond to the projected sea level if all of the ice on the planet were to melt. Such a scenario is symbolic rather than realistic, since it does not relate to a scientifically predicted event as such, but acts instead to strongly promote environmental awareness.
This image represents an ambitious project that solicits the cooperation of building owners and managers as well as residents, tenants and their employees in a visually contiguous series of buildings in the Financial District. The project constitutes an invitation for a collaborative undertaking to realize a striking and poetic visual art work. At the same time, the simple fact of participating will engage those involved in a pertinent conversation about sustainability. In this context, the choice of artistic intervention is one that operates from inside the urban architecture, creating a visual effect that engages the public space of the city outside. 1 Bamber, J. L., Aspinall, J. L. An expert judgement assessment of future sea level rise from the ice sheets. Nature Climate Change 3, 424–427 (2013) Aude Moreau holds a Masters in Visual Arts and Media from the Université du Québec à Montréal, and has developed a practice that encompasses her dual training in scenography and the visual arts. Moreau’s work has been exhibited in Canada and internationally. Recent solo exhibitions have been held at the Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris (2015); galerie antoine ertaskiran, Montreal (2015); Galerie de l'UQAM, Montreal (2015); Smack Mellon, Brooklyn (2013); Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (2012); Casino Luxembourg - Forum d'art contemporain (2009); and the Darling Foundry, Montreal (2008). She has received awards including the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art, Montreal (2011), the Powerhouse Prize from La Centrale, Montreal (2011) and the Prix Louis Comtois, Montreal (2016). Her work is part of the collection of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (2013) and of the Canada Council Art Bank (2006). Aude Moreau lives and works in Montreal. She is represented by Bradley Ertaskiran. |
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