Art through poetry and music

 Music, poetry, painting...arts which I enjoy.

Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1615-17 Artemesia Gentileschi, Italian, 1593-1656

 But I don't try to create any of these.

My friend Annelinde Metzner does create both poetry and music. Here is a link to her poetry as published recently in Women and Religion.

She introduces her poems along with some photos in this way: 

For this post, I’ve collected five of my poems from the past ten years up to the present, which are centered around the people and cultures of the Middle East. Like the region, the poems are filled with hope and unspeakable grief.

One poem starts this way...

Convivencia

The three musicians on the stage-

     the Trio Sefardi,

     music of the Jews of Iberia.

Forced out of Spain in 1492, they spread to the diaspora,

     France, Morocco, Turkey, Yugoslavia.

Drifting deep into the Ladino songs,

     I blink and I’m walking a cobblestone street

     in my Medieval village.

Children kick a ball, carry bread dough, fetch water.

     I wave hello and I hear it!  

     I hear the music!

I include the link to Abraham Jam performing her music in the YouTube video below.

I remember singing this round sometimes with the Sahara Peace Choir when I was a member (many years back). In case you haven't the slightest idea why it's called Sahara except that it isn't the desert, the choir is a blend of Abramaic names of two women - Sarah and Hagar, the two mother lines of Judaism and Muslim belief systems. (Sarah was Abraham's wife, Hagar, her handmaiden who had Abraham's son, Ishmael.)

And here is a bit of background of the Abraham Jam. I enjoyed the video that is about their coming together to make a short documentary. But their story is more interesting than just that. Check out their site as well. https://abrahamjam.com/about/

A Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian walk into a concert hall…

What may be mistaken for a stand-up comedian’s opening line is actually Abraham Jam, a trio of internationally-renowned musicians who have teamed up to create art strengthened by diversity.

Abraham Jam–composed of Billy Jonas, David LaMotte, and Dawud Wharnsby–features three “brothers” from the three Abrahamic faiths. Jonas, LaMotte and Wharnsby have performed extensively over the last few decades in their individual careers.

“Harmony is better than unity,” says David LaMotte, who helped create Abraham Jam. “We don’t have to be singing the same note to cultivate peace, we can sing different notes that are beautiful together.”

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Today's quote:

“Weakness, fear and hopelessness died.

Strength, fervor and courage were born.”

From Annelinde's poem, quoting Malala Yousafzai in her birthday address to the UN Youth 

Assembly, July 9, 2013