Issue #181 | November 4, 2009

Features
"Time to Support Image": A Poem
Artist of the Month: Kelcey Parker
Archicembalo by G.C. Waldrep
Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky
The Milton Center Postgraduate Fellowship

Gallery Watch
Laura Lasworth Exhibit: The Western Wall
Ted Prescott Exhibit: Inscape
Craig Alan Huber: Elemental Cross

Message Board
The New Renaissance Rising: Arts Renewal Celebration
“Exposed on the Cliffs of the Heart”: A Benefit for the Ignatian Spirituality Center

ImageNews
Image Readings: Marilyn Nelson
Join Image and Kathleen Norris in Oahu, February 2010
Subscribe to Image in Print

Features

"Time to Support Image": A Poem

It’s twenty years since Image first
Began, to see its readers versed
In art that occupies a space
Of craftsmanship combined with grace.
Since then our reach has grown quite wide—
A matter of no little pride—
And what began a simple book
Through hard work, prayer, support, and luck
Has blossomed from its humble start.
Can you think of your favorite part?
Perhaps to touch the glossy page
At breakfast, or to watch the stage
As Over the Rhine begins to sing?
It’s hard to pick a single thing:
The Glen, Good Letters, and IU
Are just a bit of what we do
To bring together those who see
The need for art and mystery.
That’s why this time of year we ask:
Please make a gift so we can last,
And keep providing what we feel
Is work that’s challenging and real.
You know the why, you know the how—
Help prove that grace is “Always Now.”

Please take a moment to read this year's annual appeal letter, which ties in with editor Gregory Wolfe's recent editorial, "Always Now."

Artist of the Month: Kelcey Parker

It is sometimes offered as a tenet of fiction that you can get away with absurdity if you do it emphatically enough, and early enough in the story. If you can seduce us into suspending our disbelief at the beginning, we’re yours for the whole ride. Kelcey Parker executes this strategy admirably in her short stories. Their premises read a bit like tabloid headlines, and tend to feature solid, middle-class people doing unexpectedly flighty things: A trained squirrel becomes an influential family member. A woman gives up her family for Lent. Parker’s command of scene and dialogue and her polished, lively voice are such that we’re willing to buy it. But her stories are never gimmicky: what is most surprising is not where they start, but where they go next. Rather than milking what is strange for laughs, she makes stories that are dead serious, psychologically delicate, and true, despite their strange origins. Her instincts lead her to draw out the tragedy within the absurd. Throughout her fiction, Parker displays an exquisite sensitivity to the states of the human soul, revealing aspects of both its illnesses and its resiliency that we hadn’t known. We never regret having given in to her.

To read Parker’s story “Lent” from issue #60, click here.

Archicembalo by G.C. Waldrep

“Encrypted any opus seems like so much white noise,” G.C. Waldrep writes in his collection of prose poems, Archicembalo. But this opus contains infinitesimal wonders; like the archicembalo itself, a sixteenth century harpsichord capable of plucking microtones, Waldrep’s poetry explores the melodic capability of small sounds strung together. The collection is structured after nineteenth-century musical primers which prompt the self-instruction of the student in the form of questions and answers. Each poem is labeled with a question (“What is Josquin du Prez,” “What is Alto”) but don’t expect the poem to give a clear answer. Here a hymn is a “red dress that keeps on swinging,” a descant is “an apple in December” and an arpeggio is “Men spaced evenly along a country lane.” Reading these poems is like talking to a lyrical holy fool – one asks a question and receives a deluge of puzzling phrases in return. However, each line is worth investigation. Waldrep captures the musicality of language using consonant rhyme: “O live hive, O you of the dancing paw. In the flank of the bookcase a visible flaw....” With traces of both the poet Gerald Manley Hopkins and the composer Samuel Barber, the author cries: “I send you this Ingram, this tangram, this dancegram – O fortunate swashbuckler!” Waldrep says that a “poem is in part a text that demands vocal expression.” This philosophy combines with his training as a singer to showcase his verbal mastery, exploring light linguistic acrobatics, where every tongue turn is a dance. However, it is clear that beneath this lively, teasing language is a sincere and reverent observation of the world and what is beyond it. Waldrep’s experimental lyricism is anchored by the surprising resonance and beauty of ordinary objects (copper coins, chalk) and of the animation of the natural world (a drop of snow, a rock, a skein of wheat, and a bone). Archicembalo is a suite of poems that baffles and delights. What begins as a puzzle – and to some extent, remains knotted and hidden – bursts into sounds and rhythms that only have to be voiced to dazzle in the mouth.

Click here to buy the book.

Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky

The films of the Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-1986) are generally long and have little plot or action. Many find them impossible, or at least difficult, to watch. But for many others, Tarkovsky’s films have become life-changing events. His epic, Andrei Rublev, about the famous Russian icon painter, is considered one of the greatest films of all time. Steven Soderbergh so loved Tarkovsky’s science fiction film Solaris that he made his own version as an homage. Tarkovsky’s characters are caught between desire and despair—they hunger for something infinite. Now there is an outstanding documentary about his life and work—a film that could serve either as an introduction to Tarkovsky’s oeuvre, or a satisfying way of digging deeper into films that have become a part of your life. Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky is all the more astonishing because it was made by a young man in his early twenties. Dmitry Trakovsky (no relation to the filmmaker; note the difference of spelling) is the child of Russian immigrants. He grew up in California but developed a fascination with Tarkovsky, whose films are so deeply Russian in spirit. The documentary traces the young man’s journey of discovery, but the focus is squarely on the fascinating individuals he interviews and the places where Tarkovsky lived and filmed. He speaks to the filmmaker’s son, to the Italian actress who appeared in Nostalghia, and to the famous Swedish actor, Erland Josephson, who acted in Tarkovsky’s final film, The Sacrifice. But some of the most profound interviews come from those who have never seen the limelight: a young Orthodox monk from California, the woman who runs the Tarkovsky museum in Russia. Many of these interviews shine with an almost spiritual light—because they have been touched in some way by Tarkovsky’s genius. Perhaps the most moving of all comes from the great Polish film director, Krzysztof Zanussi, who visited Tarkovsky on his deathbed (he died of a brain tumor). Zanussi, a good friend, was already well-known then; Tarkovsky understood that people would come to Zanussi in search of information about him. “Tell them,” he whispered to Zanussi, “that I am a sinner.” One last thing: the young maker of Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky is attempting to prepare the documentary for release on DVD but he needs your pre-orders to have the resources to do so.

We urge you to make the investment; it’s well worth it. Go to the film’s website here.

The Milton Center Postgraduate Fellowship: Call for Applications

The Milton Center at Image seeks out and encourages new writers of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction who will carry on and expand the tradition of Christian letters in our secularized culture. The Milton Center postgraduate fellowship brings emerging writers of Christian commitment to Image, where their primary goal is to complete their first book. During their time at the Center, fellows will have a rich experience of literary and spiritual community; they will interact with the editorial staff of Image and the English department at Seattle Pacific University, participate in the Friday writer's workshop, and enjoy the lively literary scene in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Our goal is to build a community of writers, readers, publishers, and editors and to initiate and sustain dialogue in and about literature that transforms and redeems the time.

For more information and to download an application, click here. The application deadline is March 15, 2010.

Gallery Watch

Laura Lasworth Exhibit: The Western Wall

The Seattle Pacific Art Center at Seattle Pacific University is proud to announce The Western Wall, a solo show by Seattle artist Laura Lasworth. Lasworth is a professor at Seattle Pacific University and has been called a “literary painter of rare quality” (Art in America). Her new works transform Puget Sound into a subliminal space poised between the present and the transcendent, the mystical and the matter-of-fact. The exhibition will run from November 9 – December 9. An opening reception will be held November 13 from 5-7 pm. The SPAC Gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 9-5.

Ted Prescott Exhibit: Inscape

Inscape, an exhibition of sculptures by Ted Prescott, will be opening at Franklin and Marshall College on October 24th. Prescott sculpts with a variety of materials—from limestone to wood to found objects. Through the combination of such diverse mediums, he explores what Gerard Manley Hopkins called the “inscape," or specific nature, of particular things. While recognizing that inscape is both a source of and challenge to his art, Prescott seeks to find a balance between leaving objects in their original form and using artistic manipulation to create a renewed perspective and understanding of the subject. Preview the work of Ted Prescott here.

Craig Alan Huber: Elemental Cross

Inscape Gallery, a project of Washington Seminary in Redmond, Washington, is currently hosting an exhibition of photography by Craig Alan Huber that will continue through November 13. This stunning collection depicts silver and platinum images of the cross. Huber has been inexplicably drawn to crosses for the past eleven years, and his fascination has taken him throughout America and Europe in search of them. Each photograph in this collection attempts to capture the universal inspiration of this ancient symbol, while moving the viewer away from worn clichés and into a world of beauty and mystery. View more of Huber’s work here.

Message Board
Post here to reach thousands of readers interested in the intersection of art and faith. We welcome messages about job listings, local events, conferences, prizes, calls for papers, and more. Submit your messages by sending an e-mail here.

The New Renaissance Rising: Arts Renewal Celebration

The Vatican has announced that the Pope will hold an Arts Summit on November 21st, 2009 with 500 world-renowned artists who will gather in the Sistine Chapel for the purpose of “rekindling the special historical relationship between faith and art”. According to church officials, this is to be the first of many initiatives aimed at bridging the gap that has developed between spirituality and artistic expression. On the day of the Summit, artists, churches and organizations around the world will gather in churches and public venues to celebrate the movement to reestablish the arts in the church. More information and free resources are available to churches, organizations and individuals at http://www.thenewr.org.

“Exposed on the Cliffs of the Heart”: A Benefit for the Ignatian Spirituality Center

On Saturday, November 7th at 6.45 p.m., join us for an exploration of our relationship and responsibility to the earth through the perspectives of these four guest speakers: Sherman Alexie, David James Duncan, Dr. Terry McGonigal, and Dr. Mary Ruckelshaus. Dr. Terry McGonigal, Dean of Spiritual Life at Whitworth University, will invite us to re-consider the biblical call to be “stewards of the earth,” as found in Genesis. Mary Ruckelshaus, ecologist and lead of the Marine Natural Capital Project, will speak about environmental issues of the Puget Sound region in the context of what is occurring globally. David James Duncan, Montana novelist and salmon activist, and Sherman Alexie, Washington writer and National Book Award winner, will respond to the first two presentations by sharing selections from their works. Please join us for what promises to be a dynamic and moving evening. The event will be held at Town Hall, 1119 8th Ave (at Seneca) in Seattle. Advance tickets for $20 are available on the ISC website and will be $25 at the door. For more information contact info@ignatiancenter.org.

ImageNews — The Scoop on Our Programs

Image Readings: Marilyn Nelson

The poems of Marilyn Nelson wander through forgotten corridors of the past and bring forth treasures. Deeply imaginative, graceful and plainspoken, they often cry out against injustice; sometimes they cry out with gratitude to God. They insist ferociously on the full dignity of each particular human being, which they bring before our eyes with demanding vividness. Marilyn Nelson’s books include Carver: A Life in Poems, Fortune’s Bones (both from Front Street), and A Wreath for Emmett Till (Houghton Mifflin). Her honors include two NEA fellowships, a Guggenheim fellowship, three National Book Award finalist medals, the Poets’ Prize, the Boston Globe/Hornbook Award, a Newbery Honor medal, two Coretta Scott King Honor medals, and two Pushcart Prizes. She is an emeritus professor at the University of Connecticut, former poet laureate of Connecticut, and founder and director of Soul Mountain Retreat.

Click here to hear poems recorded at the 2009 Glen Workshop.

Registration Is Open for Image Seminar in O'ahu with Kathleen Norris

You are cordially invited to spend a long weekend with poet and spiritual writer Kathleen Norris and the staff of Image in Honolulu, Hawaii, February 18-22, 2010. Registration is open now, and complete information and brochures are available at our website. Space is limited, so register early to ensure your spot. In the tradition of Image’s Florence Seminar, this event will bring a small group of inquirers together for a time of reflection, conversation, and personal enrichment. Our theme will be “The Habit of Attention: Renewing the Heart in an Age of Acedia.” Acedia is the ancient term for spiritual indifference and the subject of Kathleen’s latest book, Acedia & Me. In it, Kathleen, who grew up in Honolulu and returned with her ailing husband, David, chronicles her struggle with acedia after his death. As she began to investigate the meaning of her experience, going back to the works of the desert mothers and fathers and medieval monks, Kathleen realized how pervasive this malady is, and how deeply it permeates our culture of distraction. During our time together on O'ahu, we’ll take on the issue of acedia as both a personal and a cultural challenge. We will delve into the ways art and faith can move us beyond the distractions of media hype and pop culture and reawaken us to the world. In addition to Kathleen’s talks and readings, we’ll head out to explore the natural beauty of O'ahu and share a number of wonderful meals together.

To register, get more information, or request a brochure by mail, visit here. Find more on this special event here. Please contact Dyana Herron by email (dherron@imagejournal.org) or phone (206.281.2988).

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