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Elfje: My Little 11
Somber The heavens Despite the showers Rinsing the swanky Boulevard Clean After reading Kim Douillard‘s post, I lifted my eyes to the skies, frequently, whenever I walked outside my apartment. The vault of heaven wasn’t always pretty over here though. At least, not during those times when I was looking upward. It looked bland, and boring. Walking along the elegant Boulevard (topmost picture) on Monday, I saw the same grayness of overcast skies — but the sky had released its weight of waters by then. I snapped a picture, nevertheless, of the same grayness. Back…
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Digital Abstract
I’ve been creating representational art with pastels since I started learning to express myself with the medium, for a rather functional purpose — to de-stress while writing my dissertation. I love pastel painting but I feel it sometimes cramps my style; I want to be more loose, imaginative, expressive and create from within me.So at times, I play with PicMonkey to turn my imagination into reality. I took this photo with my Samsung mobile phone: I like the look created by the interweaving of the branches, but the image still…
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Poetry Practice Pieces 2.25.15
Five Not-So-Easy Pieces My head hurt in my effort to complete these assignments. Ils contestaient missions! And so, I’m still working on the Dickinson one. Enjoy! 1.Five Liner Stiff knotty hands misshapen by age Sculpts earthy tators with black steel blade Practicing the presence of God, he says Can I tempt you to rest your gnarled aching grip His neck stretches, recoils, bent on his sacred toil 2. Sound and Sense (A la Peyton Manning -“Nationwide is on Your Side”) I picked this line from one of Barry Manilow’s popular hit,…
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Bidart Lipsynch and Imagery
[This post is still under construction.]The last few weeks have been a blur of activities. Does your brain hurt from non-stop mentation? Mine does and did. As Countess Dowager [Dame Maggie Smith] spouts in Downton Abbey, “All this endless thinking, it’s very over-rated!” But poetic imagination is not. To the uninformed, I’m learning to use metaphors in poetry writing, hence this Bidart draft. To Randy and my poetry friends, here are my practice drafts: 1) Here’s my Bidart lipsynching draft 1. [Homonym: Lamp/Lamb] The Poem is a Lamp L A…
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Collaborative Learning Activity: Poetry Writing
We sat around a table with interesting objects we had brought from home. A community of poet wannabes. Or poetry machines, Randy Marshall our chief instigator cheekily called us. He led us to write poems inspired by the stories we shared about the items. A good activity that I could use one day with my students, if Randy doesn’t mind.Poetry writing sharpens our minds and writing. I like the opportunity it provides for us to be precise and playful with words. It is a great learning activity to try in…
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Wicked Memories
Altria Theater, Richmond, VA. Yin Wah Kreher (Copyright). Dancing through life. Defying gravity.“Like a comet pulled from orbit, as it passes a sun. Like a stream that meets a boulder, halfway through the wood… Because I knew you.”
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In the Arena
This is a picture I took of Byrd Theatre at West Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia. Text on image: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; — who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the…
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A Reflection on Tribes the Play
“Tribes” by Nina Raine at Barrow Street TheatreI didn’t know what to expect from the play. I went with one goal: to watch border-crossing enact in hybrid spaces when a Deaf actor works with non-Deaf actors and to do “research” for my dissertation. So here’s my short reflective poem about the play: Clamor Of sound and silence Language Signed or spoken By them We live, love Or not Tell me Don’t leave me Out Speak my language Understand me By Whose terms? Two paths Onward we trod Center or edge…
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Vignettes: NYC 12.26.12 – 12.27.12
“No gum popping. Gum popping. Gum popping.””Zero tolerance policy.” We turned to look at each other, my fellow passenger, a black lady with a British accent. She rolled her eyes and gestured with her right hand, saying in silence, “What’s up with this driver?” The passengers obeyed. The trip to NYC passed uneventfully. I didn’t need a pepper spray after all, vanquishing an acquaintance’s hypothesis that I was headed for catastrophe by taking a Greyhound bus to the Big Apple. She didn’t talk to me during most of the journey.…
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What makes a strong narrative for design?
A great story is based on a profound yet simple question. Can I sum up the story in a short question? I’m a movie buff and what moves me is usually a story based on a very simple premise. Midnight in Paris is a case in point. Long after the movie was over, I was still relishing the scenes and characters that Woody Allen put together so ingenuously. Gil, Inez, Gabrielle. Why? Because Woody Allen — who claims to write for the Everyday Man — captured an idea that rings…
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In Defense of Culture
My heart breaks to read of the Egyptian looters and the irreparable damage they inflicted on the learning of future generations. Years and years of accumulated cultural heritage, lifeworlds and memories had disappeared in Iraq during the US-led invasion. And now, we face the same threat to the Egyptian cultural heritage. Why some people would do this is unthinkable to me. But well, many other things are unthinkable acts too. When emotions are not managed, and misguided decisions are made too quickly, we live with the consequences. Read more here…
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Modern Cuneiform
i stare oblivious to the glare paper mountains scaled, as yet in vain there is no respite thoughts they desist word strings, one and then a few in caprice, halts and spews solitude incubates this industry of zeal and rage ~ author, ywk, jan 17, 2010
