This amazing performance piece by student Madiha speaks for itself:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10204250744971795
Originally Posted on Facebook by Usamaa Babar.
Category: Inspiring
The Search for Basho I
“Ballet in the air…
Twin butterflies until, twice white
They Meet, they mate”
Matsuo Basho, Japanese Haiku
(I studied Matsuo Basho’s poetry in college, and there is one poem that left an impression on my soul, but I’ve lost it along the way. I am searching for it. In the meantime, I’ll post new favorites, like this one.)
Pixabay photo by claude05alleva
It’s OK to show your face
Acid attacks are devastating, debilitating, deadly, and yet they are often motivated by petty power plays, greed, or for no reason at all. Perhaps that’s why I wrote a play about acid attack victims – to try and honor their perseverance to live in a world when their physical identities are stolen, their faces destroyed, their skin-deep beauty obliterated.
CNN recently did a story about acid victims in India posing for a photo shoot. These women are brave & beautiful, and I’m inspired by their honesty and strength. Take a moment to let them inspire you, too.
Bullies and Burdens: Six Links of Separation
The more I write this blog, the more surprised I am at how many times random ideas, links, people, and events connect and come around, full circle – like the film Six Degrees of Separation and the parlour game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and Kevin Bacon’s charity SixDegrees.org
Here is my latest “six links of separation” story from my last blog:
1. Visiting my husband at his work, I saw a clipped article from 5280 Magazine taped to the desk of one of his co-workers and, after reading it, it stuck with me (not literally – I left it taped to the desk).
2. When I started writing a blog, I remembered the article and thought I could write a post about it, so I got an emailed copy of the clipped article – no headline or byline – and put it aside.
3. In the meantime, I wanted to write a post featuring a clip from the film Amelie, in which the main character receives advice on sassy comebacks from a man whispering through a basement window, but I couldn’t find that particular clip on YouTube. Instead…
4. I found “Young Amelie Gets Her Revenge” which was even better (go back one blog and watch it again!). Then I remembered the article. I pulled up my email, loved the quote all over again, so I went to the 5280’s website and searched for “gas lighting”.
5. The whole article appeared, and I could reference it properly. To my surprise, I recognized the author: Laura Pritchett is not only an award-winning author, 5280 columnist, editor, & parent, she is also a University of Denver professor, and she taught one of my creative writing classes when I got my Masters. I remember her because she was creative and kind and generous – wonderful attributes in anybody but particularly appreciated in creative writing instructors.
6. I made a donation to SixDegrees.org – an homage to the connections and coincidences that make this large world seem slighter smaller and more familiar.
How I Fell in Love with a Writer Named Ryszard
In his book, Travels with Herodotus, Ryszard Kapuscinski wrote about the first time he left Poland in 1958 (3 years after Stalin’s death) for his first journalistic assignment abroad:
“We flew in darkness; even inside the cabin the lights were barely shining. Suddenly, the tension which afflicts all parts of the plane when the engines are at full throttle started to lessen, the sound of the engines grew quieter and less urgent – we were approaching the end of our journey. Mario grabbed me by the arm and pointed out the window: “Look!”
I was dumbstruck.
Below me, the entire length and breadth of the blackness through which we were flying was now filled with light. It was an intense light, blinding, quivering, flickering. One had the impression of a liquid substance, like molten lava, glimmering down below, with a sparkling surface that pulsated with brightness, rising and falling, expanding and contracting. The entire luminous apparition was something alive, full of movement, vibration, energy.
It was the first time in my life I was seeing an illuminated city.”
Photo by xuuxuu on Pixabay
KIMBERLY SAVAGE 