Tag: universal

poetry appreciation

the nearest thing to life

Jul 31, 2020 #A Litany for Survival, #Audre Lorde, #difference, #disadvantage, #fear, #function of art, #George Eliot, #Lorde, #privilege, #safety, #universal by Lucy Crispin

In an essay written just before her first published venture into fiction, Eliot claimed that ‘The greatest benefit we owe the artist, whether painter, poet, or novelist, is the extension of our sympathies’. She continues: ‘art is the nearest thing to life, it is a mode of amplifying experience and extending our contact with our fellow-men beyond the bounds of our personal lot’. It feels worth remembering this at the moment, when so many arts organisations and institutions seem to be staring down the twin barrels of Covid and being insufficiently valued/funded anyway (don’t get me started on what happened to the humanities when Literacy Hour and the National Curriculum came in…). And Eliot’s line rings round my head as I think about this week’s poem, ‘A Litany for Survival‘ by Audre Lorde. (You can find a tantalising trailer for a film about Lorde here.)

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poetry appreciation

look… feel that…

Feb 13, 2020 #being human, #God, #intimacy, #Kerry Hardie, #mindful, #mindfulness, #particular, #presence, #relationship, #Sheep Fair Day, #universal by Lucy Crispin

Phew. Someone else writing a poem involving sheep (which I seem to do a surprising amount of the time). Good to know I’m not alone! That’s one reason I picked ‘Sheep Fair Day’ by Kerry Hardie. The other is simply that I loved it: I find it very alive and very moving. Seeking to take God on a journey round her life, Hardie takes us along too. Read this vivid and lovely poem here. (I had a look on Youtube but found only a lot of vlogs about marts, so you’ll have to read it to yourself!)

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