"Bygones" Pantoum by Yours Truly

A storm is coming.
Disorienting flashes chase me underground.
Unearthing boxed memories,
They have a stale smell.

Disorienting flashes chase me underground.
Other faces gaze up with smiles,
They have a stale smell.
My face past and present turns away.

Other faces gaze up with smiles.
Ominous roars remind me of my place.
My face past and present turns away.
My self treks paths it had once thought lost.

Ominous roars remind me of my place
Absolving mistakes made in haste.
My self treks paths it had once thought lost.
I know time is failing, amends must be made.

Absolving mistakes made in haste.
Unearthing boxed memories,
I know time is failing, amends must be made.
A storm is coming.

"The Woman Who Lost Her Names" by Nessa Rapoport

This story was more difficult for me to understand seeing as I am nearly completely ignorant on the topic of Judaism. Also, the way that the story unfolded seemed rushed and I never felt myself develop a personal appreciation for the characters or, the plot in general. Fortunately these aspects of the short story were not a complete hindrance in deciphering some meaning from the tale. The focus was on names and the meaning they have in certain contexts. The main character was a woman who began her life as Sarah Josephine, named for her grandmother and uncle. When she reached kindergarten her name was changed to Sally so she wouldn’t stand out amongst her classmates. “The girls in her class had radios, then TVs, then nose jobs and contact lenses. They grew more graceful in their affluence, and she grew a foot taller than all of them, early. There were many blond girls in her class each year, and she’d stare at their fair delicate arms whose hair was almost invisible” (Rapoport, p.2). This says to me that her Jewish ancestry was something uncommon in her school environment and the change of her name was most likely correlated with this desire to mask her heritage, and with that a name is lost and a part of her identity is brought into question.
As she grows older she develops a strong desire to leave America for Israel, presumably because her families strong beliefs have permeated her with a hope to truly belong and what better place than her native land. She marries her first cousin Yakov Halevi who has himself been stripped of one name for another through matters of circumstance. The relationship between these two characters was interesting. At first he seems to be the one who has expectations beyond his tradition. He is a poet and has an innocent, open-minded appreciation of America and his bride. Sarah adores him, enough to stay in America for some time beyond her wishes, as well as once again giving up her name and accepting Yosefah as a replacement.
When the couple finally moves to Jerusalem, the tables seem to turn in the couples viewpoints. Suddenly the husband seems to be the one conforming to cultural and traditional expectations whilst the wife is obviously struggling with her identity in a way. It seemed to me like she began to suffer the ‘grass is always greener syndrome’. The description of her life in this place is far from the fantasies she entertained of this holy land in her mind as a child in America. Even when she gives birth, she is crowded and rushed from her bed in an undignified way that seems harsh compared to U.S. standards. Sarah wants to name the child Ayelet Hashachar, meaning: the dawn star. “Yakov smiled over her, indulgent. ‘This is not a name’ (Rapoport, p.7). Tradition seems to be victorious over ambition in this conclusion. Sarah sought her whole life to fit in and when she ended up where she thought she should be, she continued to defy her environment in her wishes. The ending was a bit unsatisfactory for me in its abruptness.
Overall, the message is one of maintaining an individual nature. Even though Sarah lost her own names and still managed to hang on to pieces herself, she still puts immeasurable stock in the fact that the child’s name she chose could be lost and she will end up repeating a cycle. Names are only words and it is the context in which they are used or given that places meaning upon them. This is the message I took away with me from this story.

"Covered Bridges" by Barbara Kingsolver

This short story by Barbara Kingsolver was one that I enjoyed. It’s premise is simple but surprisingly emotionally complex, following a wife and husband as they ponder their place in the procreation cycle. I am not someone who desires or rejects the idea of children at some point in time and I felt like I could relate to this fictitious couple in their hesitations to bring life into this world.
The author provides witty dialog, like considering whether or not dogs can be retarded, and has a very fluid way of describing the surroundings of the countryside and the natural elements, like the produce, that make up the scene of the festival. “Against the backdrop of harvested fields and roadside tangles of poison ivy and goldenrod, tables were piled high with local produce: handwoven baskets and corn-husk dolls, clear jars of clover honey, giant pyramids of pumpkins” (Kingsolver, p.5). I liked the alliteration in that passage and all this description makes you feel comfortable in this small town setting. I felt a vibe within the writing as they explore around the bridge and as he speaks of his gardening that, just as the character mentions, reflects those such as Thoreau, and to me Emerson, who took great personal meaning as well as spiritual stock from their surroundings. "...All natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence. Nature never wears a mean appearance. Neither does the wisest man extort her secret, and lose his curiosity by finding out all her perfection. Nature never became a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflected the wisdom of his best hour, as much as they had delighted the simplicity of his childhood" (Nature, Emerson).
“Covered Bridges” was also relishable because its storyline abruptly threw me off, from being content with the situation to being caught off guard by a sudden happening. “Then she stood up suddenly, gazed at me with a look of intent misery, and spat out something that twitched on the grass. Ursula and I both leaned forward to look. It was a hornet” (Kingsolver p.9). My heart skipped a beat with the sudden transition of a happy picnic into a life and death situation. The author set me up to experience a frequent occurrence in reality, commonly known as having the rug pulled out from underneath you. I appreciated this aspect of the text more than anything. A real point was conveyed by the author through the entire plot concerning the decisions one makes for ones future in life and the reality of the unpredictability that inevitably just screws those plans. When Lena was appreciating the wonder of a caterpillar and making wishes, the situation of her existence and the beauty around her seemed pure and sound. Shortly after this happy moment however, an encounter with winged chance brought about a perception that took into stock the reality of her mortality. This reality took precedence over the societal and intuition based expectations of having a child.
Kingsolver has woven a story that entertains two aspects of the world that can be individually and personally felt, invoking a thoughtful reflection on your own universe and what you choose to fill it with. I appreciated this story and its charm.

Seth Hunter Exhibit, "A Thousand, But More"

When I first walked into the gallery displaying Seth Hunter’s exhibit, I was struck by the stark setting. On one end of the room there was a worn dictionary laid upon a pedestal. On the other end, three small square signs hung from the wall, spattered with repetitive script. One sign conveys the message, “ten hundred is just to annoy by irritating acts or remarks”. The second just repeats a few words and half sentences, (such as although, whether, on condition that; in case that). The last sign used the phrase “make a million then you will know” to cover its surface, perhaps hinting on the fact that you can make a million cups and still end up with a different result, but at least you will definitely know how to make a cup. In the middle of the gallery floor there are wood pieces laid out with tons of cups strewn across the top. This effect was very aesthetically pleasing, because to me the cups were seemingly crowded in appearance, yet when I looked closely they were clearly separated and not at all on top of one another. The cups differed from one another, but they still managed to be seen as a whole unit with the colors being complementary and interwoven. The deformity of the middle cup was something to draw the eye, and reminded me of a black hole in the middle of a space, deforming and sucking objects into its depth. On the wood was written “Too many pages none of them are right”. This was interesting to me and inspired me to look further into the exhibit by actually turning over one of the cups. Underneath I found a word. I regret that I can’t recall to memory which word it was, and I was foolish enough not to write it down, but I thought it was inventive that the exhibit was slightly interactive. Look at the word then proceed to the dictionary to look it up. The artist seemed to really want to get a point across and used continuous methods to do so. As a whole, this exhibit was very interesting to me because of the impression it left. I felt like maybe I was being warned against the danger of repetition past a certain point. To become an expert is a desirable thing but to end your trial there is a waste. The pages are there and none of them are right so reliving this circumstance and reading the same pages is not helpful. I have no idea what the artist actually intended but I enjoyed the work and have come to my own helpful conclusions about its message.

A.W. Thompson Photography Exhibit

A.W. Thompson’s photography exhibit was striking when I first walked in because of the complete lack of color. Each shot is black and white and provides an ominous sensation to the sequence of visions. It was also very informative. Along with the pictures he included facts and snippets of background to the images which helped narrate the intentions of the artist to the viewer. I appreciated this because it helped me actualize the story as I walked through the gallery. The picture of the protective suits in their individual piles made me think how mind-boggling it is that these heaps of rubber and cloth are what workers use to protect against the plutonium. In general the photos were mostly very clear digital looking prints. Texture was captured in detail on materials ranging from cloth to the stones scattered on the ground, and this helped to make it seem solid and right in front of you. The photographer didn’t try to use anything fancy to shed light on the situation. Instead he just lays these images out and allows them to have their own impact. I didn’t really notice the rule of thirds as being a prominent theme of this work. Mostly the visual patterns I noticed seemed to have the pictures separated in halves. There were several photographs that stood out to me. “Waste Characterization and Repackaging Glove Box, Rocky Flat Nuclear Weapon Plant, 2003" was one such photo. This snapshot is a clear image, but there are windows on each side that reflect a sort of a blurry otherworldly atmosphere beyond this protective box. I felt a true sense of the weird when looking at the gloves that seemed like severed, empty remnants of some human substance. My imagination grasped onto this inscrutable sensation and led me toward a gruesome thought, comparing the material lying on the table to that of a child ripped apart and individually packaged. Eeew, I know. Another picture that caught my fancy was the picture that showed the view from the Rocky Flat’s to Denver. How horrifying in its simplicity and the message it sends. I discovered a sight of environmental and bureaucratic failure is separated by a strip of desolate prairie from my beloved city and that is a message I will carry with me. In essence, I believe this was the artists intention. To leave the viewer with a simple, but effectively dramatic, representation of a situation in our own backyard.

Definitions

Creative- Creativity is defined as the use of imagination or original ideas in order to create something. I always thought of creativity as the internal realization of a commodity within us. It is only physically perceptible when funneled through a medium, but its boundaries are boundless. Creativity is an inherently human characteristic and it is what has helped us develop as a species and discover unthought of possibilities. Creativity can transform raw material into new concepts and ideas allowing for progression beyond natural boundaries that would otherwise be impenetrable.
Imagination- “The faculty or action of forming ideas or images in the mind; the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful”. This is the seemingly simple definition of imagination. It really is one of the most fascinating aspects of our nature. The imagination, to me, is the combination of our conscious and sub-conscious and the influence of the day to day information absorbed by each. We are able to gain new insight into situations because we can imagine the solution and work internally and externally to bring it about. This is the start of the creative process that can lead to development, both physically and emotionally. It is a function that takes the frequent and fashions it into the fantastic. Imagination is a partner to creativity and is also a matter of limitless possibilities. The human potential is exponential when we are equipped with the sense and ability to see past our own noses.
Culture- “The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively”. I always think of culture as a separate collective. This is because culture can be different within separate areas in the world and the perception and appreciation of the aforementioned manifestations can vary radically from one to the other. In another context, I believe a person who exhibits cultural efficiency is generally known to have a worldly view upon art and humanity. To be cultured is to be informed of the collective spirit of man and display emotionally and socially receptive qualities when approaching the admiration of humanities creative dexterity.

Einstein's "Letter to Jacques Hadamard"

The letter from Einstein is a difficult one for me to clearly interpret. Einstein is attempting to verbally reproduce the creative process he goes through in his discoveries and theories. From the beginning I shared his trepidation in doing so. “I am not satisfied myself with those answers...”. Personally, I am respectfully dazzled by greater minds than my own. It seems it is futile enough for me to fathom their intellectual process let alone the sources behind them that provide direction. This letter is an insight that I appreciated into a different side of a man I would have thought lived in numbers. In seems that he instead formed his ideas within his imagination, spiritedly exploring this realm with insight and application to the world around him. What I took away from this was that his creative process was nurtured, organic and fluid. Words were a secondary accomplishment in this process and only suitable outside the initial creative sensations that led to the idea. Einstein’s creative process is truly interesting, and made me humanize an icon whose thoughts seemed beyond my reach. We are at least equal in our creative capacity as human beings and this is a comforting realization.