creative forces

Blog # 108… August 2020

“When life crashes down and crushes our soul - art reminds us that we have one.”  Stella Adler, who revolutionized acting in the 20th century by introducing Stanislavsky’s method, was probably having an annus horribilis when she said that - maybe a bit like the one we’re having now. And this isn’t a temporary disruption, we’re having to get used to being anxious and uncomfortable with risk and change, refugees from our former lives.

As well as keeping ourselves safe and healthy, equity of race, economics and ability are front of mind and I hope John Lewis’s words are played out when he said “We’re going down roads where there’s no turning back.”  Much of the change is needed and let’s not forget the climate!  Jacinda Arderne, the brilliant Prime Minister of New Zealand (we need more women in positions of power!) shared this poem and my friend Rhona sent it to me:  https://newstoryhub.com/2020/04/for-papatuanuku-mother-earth-by-nadine-anne-hura-via-jacinda-ardern/ 

A lot of you have told me that you find my blogs encouraging.  I love gathering my thoughts and putting them out there and having your comments warms my soul, especially right now, as I’m mourning the deaths of two close friends. They were both lively and creative souls who will continue to enrich my life even as their physical presence is gone….my version of the afterlife. So count on me appearing in your inbox every month exploring how art can help us find some comfort and joy in this crazy and wonderful world.

Music is always top of the list of mood altering forms…it creates and evokes memories, soothes or invigorates and is the sense that remains longest after all others have shut down. It goes right to the centre of emotion, not depending on language or intellectual capacity…so wind up that gramophone, and if you’re without devices, sing a song - just keep your distance!

In times of crisis, we go back to basics - as well as balcony singing, we’re clinging to stories either as distraction or as a reminder that we’ve been down this road before. Personally, I’m staying away from apocalyptic material, but apparently The Decameron and The Plague are flying off the shelves. I’m gravitating towards personal stories where I can lose myself in someone else’s life, preferably with different complications and challenges to mine, but with a common humanity. I’m drawn to writers who probe the limits of what’s intellectually possible and socially acceptable; if you’re in the mood for something weird and immersive, try Ottessa Moshfegh – My Year of Rest and Relaxation or Eileen.  And I always dip into The Alexandria Quartet when I’m feeling marginal.

Sometimes we just need to feel awful for a while and this seems to be one of those times, so take a break once in a while and find yourself some art to love while the world remains strange and scary.

And, you know how I love a good quote, I was touched when I noticed something Maya Angelou said long before the emergence of guilt and regret about our past treatment of racialized groups,” I did then what I knew how to do, now that I know better, I do better.”

See you in September.