#Writing Affirmations: A Collection of Positive Messages to Inspire Writers

[thepersonalwords]

Never be afraid to write what you believe. If the message speaks the truth, others will fear your words for you.

Rob Bignell, Editor, Writing Affirmations: A Collection of Positive Messages to Inspire Writers

[guigz1-coldwar]

'The Russianwoman' : an sequel to Yirina Grigoriev's story

2017

More than 30 years has passed since Yirina Grigoriev-Park finishied her fight against the Perseus Collective and her goals...finally fullfilled.

Her fight was done, Perseus was no more and she could finally let an life like she wanted to be. She was now married to the love of her life, Helen A. Park-Grigoriev and the two had created an family : an daughter named Katie born by Yirina and an son, by Park named Elijah, an tribute to her brother.

The old days was finished, they were done with the MI6 but when an tragic event caused by the IRA hit an member of her family, Yirina has no choices but to do the only thing she could do.....

This fiction is inspired by the 2017 movie 'The Foreigner' with Jackie Chan & Pierce Brosnan with now my OC Bell and COD characters in it ! It's one of my ideas about an sequel with my OC Bell but there's could be other in case !

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Like every Friday, I was the one who has to get Katy from the university in London she was working : she was studying international relations like Helen did in the past even if we both wanted her to go to Oxford but she preferred to stay here in London. She's my daughter and I'm so proud of her. Elijah wasn't at home for the month, he's been travelling around the US along with some friends but also Zasha & Portnova's daughter. Right now, it was just me, Helen and Katie at home.

Of course, I had to prepare myself to go outside so I got up from the couch where I was watching TV as Helen was writing at her desk, she said that she wanted to be an writer, tell of her life inside the MI6 and I agreed to that, thinking that it was best for her to write. I couldn't refuse that, she's my wife and she's always thinking positively. I'm happy to be with an woman like that to be honest. We've been married since an long time...long before homosexual marriage was officialy legalized in the UK.

As I was putting my brown jacket on while looking myself through the mirror, I was wondering how much I didn't really change in years, my scar at the side of my head was now no longer visible hidden by my redhead hair along with some grey ones. I can say that getting older doesn't mean that we all change. I'm 65 years old and I'm still looking good for my age.

"You're going to get Katie ?" I was surprised in the inside when I saw Helen arriving in the entrance of the house after finishing to put my jacket on, she was looking lovely with her glasses and her hair too, still not even changed in an lot of times.

"Yeah, I received her message on my phone." I replied, taking out the phone I was using from my pocket, checking back the message Katie sent me. "Finished my day of study, ready to spend time in family." I repeated the message to Helen as she was coming next to me to look at my phone.

"Always our little Katie." Helen said proudly, her eyes focused on one of the pictures that was standing on an drawer : me, holding Katie on my lap at her 5 year old birthday with Helen next to me, Katie blowing some candies on her cake, Zasha was the one who took the picture. "Time is passing so fast." She stated, an little laugh out of her mouth.

"She's our girl, Helen." I told her, putting my arms on her shoulders, getting us close. "I'm telling this maybe each year but I'm so freaking happy." I added before pulling her for an kiss on her lips, an slow and passionated kiss to her.

"I know but each time, it make me smile." She confirmed after we broke the kiss, her arms around my waist. "Since the first moment I met you, you never change at all."  She continued, moving her left hand on my cheek, an grin on her face.

"The first time we met ?" I breathed, trying to laugh about it. "It was an long time and that's the past." I affirmed to her with an smile. "We've been through an lot and our old lives...it's over for good." I exclaimed, sure of my words. It's been years now that we decided to stop working with the MI6 after years of services and it was better for us and about me....it was the past, things I want to forget and things I can't really forget. "Now, my family is my life."

"You will always have us...family." Helen smiled at me, her left hand removing some hair that was in front of my eye. "About family, I got an text message from Elijah."

"Oh yeah ?" I whispered, happy to hear about it as Helen got out of her pocket her own phone to make me look at the message.

"Greetings from Chicago, next step : an road trip on Road 66." She repeated the message as an picture of our Elijah and his right arm behind Clara, Zasha's daughter.

"They're doing the same thing like we did in 1989 & others years too." I expressed, thinking about the numerous trips we did with Helen. "You advised him, right ?" I demanded to Helen and she nodded to me with an smile.

"I told him that it was an experience to try and looks like he will do it with Clara." Helen replied fully to me, putting her phone back in her jeans pocket before looking back at me. "Seems that Elijah & Clara are getting along well." She added, referring to the picture we saw, it's true that the two are close since they met up in kindergarten.

"It's good for them, you know that Zed is approving in case the two are in relationship." I exclaimed, releasing an little laugh from my mouth.

"And what about Katie ?" Helen questioned me. "She said that she's going to the prom with an friend." She added.

"Yeah, once I got her from the university, I'm taking her to buy an dress." I responded, moving to grab my car keys, me & Helen got two car in case and it was better. "And once we got her dress, we're coming back here and we spent some family time." I continued, enthusiatic.

"Tomorrow, we will be going to dinner with Zasha & Portnova at their place." She recalled me of that as it's been some times we didn't planned an dinner like that.

"Yes, I will bring Katie to her prom before we can go to their place, Katie said that she will sleep at her friend's place." I spoke up, thinking of what dress Katie would take in that shop I'm thinking about. "Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine." I reassured Helen about letting Katie with her friend, I didn't see them together too much but I know it will be good. "And you know Katie..."

"Yeah, she know well of how to defend herself in case." Helen said, having learned Katie & Elijah to defend themselves from attackers in case, our old lifes did helped for that.

"Anyway, I'll be on my way, I don't want Katie to wait too long." I passed my hand through my face to remove any hair from it, looking myself back on the mirror. "You text me in case." I demanded to Helen who basically nodded.

"I'll say what we will eat tonight, stay safe, love." She reconforted me, making an little kiss on my cheek before she decided to return to her office to work on her writing, leaving me alone in the entrance.

I didn't lose any time, getting out of the house we've been living for years, waving to some of the neighbors that was peacefully watering their gardens as I was going to get into my own car, an green Ford Mondeo I used since an long time but I'm planning to actually give it to Katie when she will have her driver license. From time to time, she's learning with me to drive the car in an place where we could do it without been disturbed.

Getting inside the car was usual for me and of course, I had to learn well to drive on the left side of the road because of the british way to drive but over the years, I got myself used to this and it was okay. I started the engine and drove off the house, driving to get to the University of London where she was working. Portnova was still working at this place but partially as she was also able to work at Oxford alterning each week and right now, she was still at Oxford.

As I arrived at free parking place just in front of the University of London, it was the perfect time as everyone was getting out of it, me trying to find with my eyes where was Katie until I found her, getting out from the front door with her friend : an light brow hair girl. I stayed in my car, awaiting for Katie to get in when I saw the two kissing each other for an brief instant before they broke the kiss as Katie walked to my car, opening the right front passenger seat.

"Hi mom !" She started, sounding very happy as she got inside the car.

"Hey Katie." I breathed, also like her, seeing her with proud on my face. "Didn't know that your friend was your girlfriend." I exclaimed, surprised of witnessing that kiss from Katie to her friend.

"Yes, it's true that I didn't talk about this." She whispered, putting her backpack on the backseats behind her. "She's my girlfriend...since some weeks now." She got out her own phone to show me an picture of her friend, the two in each other's hands in the London's Eye. "Her name is Jess." She explained to me.

"Oh, Jess ? That's nice." I expressed my happiness about it, that name was familiar inside of me but it was my past. "I'm proud of you, Katie....Mommy Helen too." I added, knowing that it was all true, we both proud of her choices.

"Thanks mom." She whispered, putting her seatbelt on.

"Ready to get her dress ?" I asked with an smile and she nodded. "Well, here we go." I then started the car's engine and driving away from the University to go to the shop that was in another part of the city and along the way, I wanted to talk instead of listening to the radio. "So, Jess is like your prom date ?" I started after an minute of driving.

"Of course Mom." She replied, fainting to be annoyed to my 'stupid' question I just asked. "I ain't going to take an guy to the prom if Jess is my girlfriend." She added, keeping the same tone as before.

"Yeah, that's reasonable to say." I stated, making an little laugh before peaking my head to look at Katie, on her phone while we were at an redlight. "How's studies by the way ?" I asked her.

"Oh, it's fine, I can thanks mommy Helen for helping me." She replied, sounding relieved as her studies was almost complicated.

"You got lucky that she studied that in her life." I exclaimed, smirking about thinking of it. "Me, I was more into cryptography." I continued but it was something that Katie already know but only an little. "The world is getting more advanced each day." I claimed, seeing the new technologies arriving, it was looking more easy before 2000.

"At least, you know how to use an phone." Katie scoffed, laughing an little about it as using smartphones was complicated for me at the start. "But you still have to learn how to play video games." She joked around about my weak skills in that domain.

"You will have to make me learn more then, like I'm doing with your driving license." I affirmed to her, making an fake serious look to her for an second before getting my eyes back on the road, soon arriving at destination. "Must be here for that." I stated, seeing the shop from afar before I stopped the car near an parking place that was going to get free.

"I'm going now." Katie said, starting to open her door before I stop her.

"Wait, let me park first." I protested, putting my hand gently on her.

"Don't worry and it's already full, you can join me." She expressed, making an little kiss on my cheek before going out of the car, passing next to an guy that was retrieving something on the ground near an bike to get to the shop called 'Stitch & Rose'...could used an better name but I can't say an thing about it. I smiled as I saw her walking away before getting my senses to park the car at the parking place that was now free but as I was soon fully parked, another car in front of me got the same idea and unfortunately, we bumped into each other.

"Damnit !" I heard the man shouting from my position with me still an bit disturbed to have dumped into someone but it wasn't my fault. I then slowly start to get out to meet the angry driver.

"I was going to park here !" I exclaimed loudly, showing to him the now lightly damaged part of my car.

"Hey, you wanker, you should...." The man was sounding more angry until suddenly, an explosion coming from across the street cut him straight in his words.

The explosion was so strong that it send me fly over my own car, receiving some glass on my face before falling back into the ground on the sidewalk and what I could hear right now was the cries of people around me, hearing the pleads and me...trying to find out what just happened right now, it's....what's the hell just happened ? I was trembling when I got up back on my feets, looking shell shocked and my hands....trembling furiously, my face...filled with glasses.

I started to move slowly to get back at my former position where I could see that the angry driver was against his car....dead, blood all over his face and me still standing. I looked around the other side of the street, seeing an car rolled over and the shop, partially destroyed with dead people around it.

"Katie !" I whispered, realizing that she was inside that shop and fear took over me, starting to walk towards the shop. "Katie !" My voice was getting louder as I was approaching the shop, wanting to know where she was until I entered it, only hearing nothing. "Katie !" I screamed loudly inside the shop, trying to find her but then....I saw her...on the ground, next to the destroyed window, not moving at all. "Katie !" I quickly moved to grab her in my arms and to get outside. "Please, Katie, please." I whispered as I got myself on the ground, trying to see if she was still alive.

"Mommy..." I could hear her voice, sounding very low but...her whole body went limp in my arms.

"No, no, no, no." I breathed heavily as I could feel her body going limp....it was too late....my girl...."NO, KATIE !" I screamed loudly, realizing that my daughter...was dead. "Katie !" I said, feeling all the tears in my eyes until I started to cry for good, holding Katie's body in my arms, not wanting to release her.....

"Katie..."

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"An bomb was blowed up today in the Southwark district..."

"At least dozens of wounded and dozens of killed people were reported...."

"An group called themself the 'Authentic IRA' has claimed responsability for the bombing that happened today..."

"Is this group really part of the IRA or just some fakers ?"

"This act isn't going to stay unpunished, we will find those peoples and then....."

"Some people is trying to forget the past but it's always coming back !"

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Here's the prologue of 'The Russianwoman'. The story will not be updated until Yirina's current story (Redemption of an Spirit in an Cold War) is at its nearly end !

[1984essayquestions788]

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[rethinkingthefaith]

Rethinking the Absolute Authority of Scripture

"God says it, I believe it and that settles it."

Most of us have seen the bumper sticker. But the saying is far from an idle cliché. Beneath it is a theological root-system that sustains the faith of multitudes.

For the most conservative Protestants, the Bible is nothing less than the divine manual. God gave us the book for detailed, infallible direction. It is all-sufficient, addressing every problem we face in life. Every doctrine God wants us to believe is settled forever, laid out plainly for the faithful to receive. Such is the sentiment of countless thousands who style themselves "Bible-believing Christians."

For conservative Protestants, the all-sufficiency and absolute authority of all Scripture pose few, if any, problems. The propositions are perfectly self-evident in the thought world of fundamentalism. Ipso facto, they constitute good theology. To swerve from the "all sufficiency" of Scripture, to cease viewing it as "the final court of appeal," is to imperil one's walk with God. So we are told. But if Christians are to "test all things," shouldn't our notions of scriptural authority be among the "things"? After all, scrutiny never wears down truth. Why not subject to the rigors of inspection the common understanding of Scripture as "all-sufficient court of appeal"?

Many are hesitant at this point. Sola scriptura is one of the Reformation's foundation stones. Its acceptance seems one of the "ground rules" of being Christian. You acknowledge its final authority, no questions asked. But is this a thinking faith that we can offer to a post-modern society that has learned to ask "why" questions?

The common view of Scriptural authority is based on several statements, each of which is held as axiomatic by conservative Protestant Christians. They are as follows:

1. The Bible was written through supernatural means. God used men to pen these writings, but they are as much God's own words as men's.

2. The canonical writings make up one divine book, a "manual" of Christian faith.

3. The Bible is, accordingly, free of error.

4. All questions of belief are to be brought to its pages. That which can be upheld by chapter and verse must be believed by all Christians. That which is contradicted there must be rejected.

5. Its precepts are relevant and binding through all ages. The Bible addresses us in this century as much as it did the primitive church.

It is my position that none of the above five statements is entirely true. Each is flawed — far from self-evident. I say this as a serious Christian who believes in God, Christ and holiness. And I have no fear that holding such a view puts me in danger of embracing damnable error. On the contrary, I would argue that people have embraced the most outrageous of errors while holding fast the idea of absolute biblical authority. And it can scarcely be affirmed that the old view of the Bible has produced unity of belief. Churches all claiming to believe "nothing but the Bible" hold views so far apart that outsiders might wonder if they confess the same religion.

Still, the church must give a high place to these writings that so inform our faith and practice. But before I attempt to set forth an alternative view of scriptural authority, I would like to outline why I can't embrace the six "biblicist" statements mentioned above:

1. Nowhere do the authors of Scripture ever indicate that they are writing supernaturally. The prophets, of course, made this claim about their speech (2 Pet. 1:21). But no author ever describes the assumed plenary inspiration of the writings. Peter tells us that men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, but not that anyone ever wrote in such a manner.

It is not enough to highlight Paul's declaration to Timothy that the Scriptures are "God-breathed" or "inspired" (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul never defines that term for us. He says nothing of the supernatural process assumed by so many. Besides, the context indicates he was talking about the Old Testament, not the New (see verse 15 — "the Scriptures you have known from infancy…"). The famous proof-text proves nothing about the four Gospels or even Paul's own writings.

To say that something is God-breathed is not to say that is wrought by supernatural means. The book of Job tells us that frost comes by the breath of God (Job 37:10), yet we all know that this phenomenon occurs naturally. We have no right to bring so much theological baggage to the 2 Timothy text. It is utterly unwarranted to make one term, "inspired" or "God-breathed," prove so much.

Experience teaches us how something can be God-breathed — that is, produced by God through his providence, enlightenment, wisdom — without being wrought in a directly supernatural way. A teacher gets up the deliver a message on Sunday. It comes with force, relevance. Afterward, members of the congregation comment on how the teaching was "from the Lord," because of its effect on them. But no one views it as a matter of special metaphysics. Nor does anyone considers the utterance infallible. It was simply a blessed message, one that uplifts and empowers the hearers, moving them closer to the Sacred. Why must we regard the Scriptures as an entirely different kind of inspiration than this?

Whatever Paul meant by "God-breathed," the context tells us it is a property that makes the Scriptures "profitable for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness." At this point, we stop our inquiry. To delve into metaphysics, based on one expression, is surely a questionable course.

The burden of proof is on those who disagree. Show us one text where Paul or anyone else says anything like, "The Spirit came upon me and I began to write the very words of God." Surely no such assertion ever occurs in the Bible. It is devoid of such extravagant claims as inerrancy or all-sufficiency.

Milton Spenser Terry makes the point powerfully:

Let us begin with a brief study of the preface to the Gospel of Luke. "It seemed good to me," he writes, "having traced the course of all things from the first, to write unto thee in orderly sequence." Here we find no claim of supernatural assistance. Like any other historian who aims to put on record a trustworthy narrative of facts, he also made diligent search to obtain the best accredited testimony of eyewitnesses. Why should we or anyone make a claim of infallibility or of supernatural help for a writer who seems not only to make a pretension to such assistance, but rather implies that he has prepared his narrative in the ordinary human way? 1

Among other things, this means the Bible is not the Word of God in the strictest sense. "Word of God" is used variously in Scripture. In the Old Testament, the law is called the Word of God (see Psalm 119: 113,144, e.g.). Of course, the Scriptures contain this law and, therefore, contain the Word of God. And so, it is really more accurate to say that the God's Word is in the Bible, than to say that it is the Bible.

The prophets of Judah and Israel also recognized the Word of God as a revelatory principle that came upon them. It moved their inner being, prompting them to speak the divine message to the redeemed community: "The Word of the Lord came to me, saying…"

In the New Testament, Jesus is called the Word of God (Rev. 19:13), for he is the embodiment of the divine will. Most often, the gospel message is called the Word of God. The reference in 1 Peter is typical: "…the word of the Lord endures forever. That word is the good news that was preached to you" (1:25)."

The earliest Christians equated the Word of God with the "glad tidings of Jesus," not with a collection of "inerrant" writings.

Orville Dewey writes:

The Scriptures, then, it might seem needless to say, are not the actual communication made to the minds that were inspired from Above; but they are a "declaration of those things which were most surely to be believed among them." They are not the actual word of God, but they are a "record of the word of God." They are the nature of a testimony. "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen." 2

2. The Bible should never be viewed as a single book. It is an anthology, a collection of sacred writings. Far too many Christians speak as if the 66 books descended from heaven attended by angels, smoke and lightning. Of course, this is far from the case. The early church compiled the books. There was no absolute consensus on which books ought to be elevated above others. Some rejected Revelation, Hebrews, 2 Peter. Others wanted the inclusion of epistles by Barnabas and Clement. The apocalyptic book of Enoch (quoted in the book of Jude) appears in some early canons, though it is absent from our Bible.

The obvious question is, who gave the church the authority to produce an objective, absolute standard of belief? Certainly Jesus never said anything about a coming addition to the Scriptures, nor did any other apostolic writer. Here evangelical inerrantists find themselves in a conundrum. They reject the notion of "church authority," dismissing it as a Roman Catholic invention that threatens sola scriptura. But they are stuck when it comes to the canon's formulation. Here they must say that God perfectly guided the Church Universal to make a decision binding on all generations — and never worked that way with her again.

There is no doubt that the canon is a valuable thing. It is important for us to know that the books we have today were generally accepted by the majority of early Christians. Thanks to the canon, we know that the Gnostic writings, for example, were not regarded as consonant with the earliest Christian faith. However, a reading of the New Testament reveals no trace that the authors considered their writings part of a larger work. You might even say the idea of a 66-book Bible is unbiblical.

3. The Bible bears the imperfections of its human authors. Few dogmas of Christianity have caused so much embarrassment as the infallibility of the Bible. The doctrine has become a belief of necessity, running something like this: a) Christians need an external, objective standard of belief in order to be secure in the faith, b) the Bible contains words of Jesus and his early followers, c) therefore, it is a perfect standard of faith, free of all error.

The doctrine is entirely deductive, not inductive. No one seems to look at the Scriptures first to see if they really are manifestly inerrant before forming this belief. It is not based on a careful examination of the text, but on an assumption: We need a perfect standard, therefore, God must have given us one. Is this at all logical? Who are we to decide what God should give us?

Biblical inerrancy falls under its own weight when examined critically. The Bible contains obvious contradictions in its parallel accounts (such as the four resurrection accounts, which are irreconcilable). Within the pages of Scripture are scientific inaccuracies based upon ancient understanding. Yet, no matter how long a list of these we produce, the inerrantist will never accept a single one. Why? Because he knows that, even though it looks like an error, it cannot be. The inerrantist has a foregone conclusion that God must secure a perfect standard.

It is really not necessary to list biblical contradictions and problems here. Most reflective Bible students are painfully aware of them. The difficulties fill volumes of apologetic works, such as Haley's Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible. Champions of inerrancy have wasted countless hours reconciling difficulties of the most trivial order.

The most damaging feature of inerrancy, however, is the tying of the Christian gospel's veracity to the perfection of the Bible. If we find one real error in its pages, we hear from preachers, then the entire Christian faith crumbles into ruins. This makes faith acutely precarious. No wonder apologists spend so much ink trying reconcile minutiae — they think the truth of the gospel hinges on whether a hare chews cud or whether the mustard seed is really the smallest of seeds.

4. There is a diversity of theological thought in the Bible. Individual Scripture verses cannot really be the touchstone, the "final court of appeal" for Christian doctrines and practices, because not all authors of Scripture agreed on all details. True, there are grand unifying elements in the Bible's pages: the divine mission of Jesus, the imperative of love, the fatherhood of God, the fellowship of the Spirit, the need for holiness, the promise of a future life, the death and resurrection of Christ. But there are also some differences. They are comparatively minor, but they are still differences. Paul and James, for example, appear to differ on the mode of justification. (Many will say they did not, but we would be hard-pressed to come up with more diametrically opposed language if we tried.)

Another point that conservative biblicists seldom take into account is the marked development of ideas throughout the Bible. As we move through the history of redemption, doctrines of God, ethics and immortality grow from comparatively primitive ideas to the highly sophisticated. In Genesis, God appears to have a body. He creates humans in His image (1:27) and walks with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day (3:8). He allows Moses to see His back parts but not His face (Ex. 33:23). But as we progress into the book of Psalms, we read about God’s omnipresence — He is in heaven, Sheol and everywhere in between (Ps. 139). By the New Testament, God is conceptualized as a spirit (John 4:24). So, in the fully formed theology of Scripture, God is without a body and without spatial limitations, ideas that took centuries to emerge.

In Genesis, God does not know the whereabouts of Adam and Eve (3:9), repents of having made humanity (6:6) and travels to Sodom to learn whether reports of its corruption are true (18:20-21). But as we get to the Psalms, God knows all things, even the thoughts of men (94:11). Later authors of Scripture tell us that God does not repent (Mal. 3:6) or alter his plans (James 1:17).

These theological ideas grew from the nomadic Semites’ less-developed grasp of the Divine. In the sweep of Holy Scripture from beginning to end, we observe an advance in religious understanding as the Spirit of God leads the redeemed community deeper into the truth.

5. The Bible, in many ways, reflects the culture and time in which its individual books were written. There is no doubt that the Bible contains lessons and precepts that apply to humanity in all ages. But was the Bible written for us in modern America as much as for the first century church? The idea, upon examination, turns out to be unconvincing. For example, how can Paul's personal instructions — bring a cloak and parchments, or to greet certain individuals — be instructions for us? Paul addresses specific problems in specific churches. Those problems, though they may have some parallels in today's congregations, really don't address us per se. The specifics simply do not apply. Problems over Jewish exclusiveness, for example, have long passed out of the church at large.

An Alternate Approach

The letter of Scripture cannot be the absolute and final authority. Christians who say it is are not consistent with that belief. Most Christians object, for example, to slavery. They do so because they know that it violates the spirit of the gospel. But does the Bible itself come out and condemn slavery? It most certainly does not. In the Old Testament, slavery was a part of the law of Moses. Even beating one's slave was not forbidden under the law. And in the New Testament, Paul tells slaves to obey their masters. He does tell masters to treat their slaves kindly (a great advance), but nowhere do we read that having slaves was unchristian.

Why do we believe slavery is wrong, then? It is because we know that it does not follow the course set by the gospel. The gospel is about freedom, "the opening of the prison to those who are bound," treating others as we ourselves wish to be treated, relieving the oppressed. We rightly sense, then, that slavery does not fit in with the gospel paradigm.

The New Testament did not give us a full-blown, perfect application of the gospel. It has taken time to flesh out the teaching of Jesus, to apply it to contemporary circumstances in a consistent way. Liberation of the slaves was latent within the seed of the gospel when it was planted in the first century. But it took a long time to germinate and spring forth. That Paul did not see past the culture of his day on this point is understandable.

Truth Test #1: The Spirit of the Gospel

This brings us to the first test of Christian truth: Any doctrine of the faith must be consistent with the spirit of the gospel. It must be harmonious with peace, love, justice, equity, benevolence, goodness. A given teaching may actually pass muster with the chapter-and-verse test of biblicism. But if it contradicts the tenor and trajectory of Jesus' gospel — as set forth by his life and words — it should be laid aside whether biblical or not.

Truth Test #2: The Consistent Themes

A second test of Christian truth concerns the Bible, but not as a collection of "verses" whose citations "settle the matter." A safer course is to treat the sacred volume thematically. The test is simple: Any doctrine of the faith must be consistent with the broad, overall ideas of Scripture. As stated earlier, the Bible contains some diversity of opinion. But it does have grand streams of truth that are consistent from cover to cover. Any doctrine under consideration must have the sanction of these major currents. The doctrine of God's faithfulness, for example, is upheld throughout the entire Bible and therefore must be considered integral to our religion. The same is true of the power of faith, the virtue of goodness, the forgiveness of sin: all truths that track throughout the sacred volume.

Truth Test #3: Good Fruit

Third, we have this test: Any doctrine of the faith must show that it has or will bring forth "good fruit" when put into practice. This is crucial. Truth in the abstract is of little worth. Show, however, that a given teaching bears a harvest of righteousness and you have Christian doctrine that cannot be reproached.

We have a certain advantage over the early church in this regard. We have been able to observe what 2,000 years of church history has produced, how teachings have shaped that history for evil or good. Take militarism, for example. Someone might produce a Scripture argument for Christians fighting in a war to establish a "greater good." But look at the fruits Christian militarism has produced over the centuries and there is no doubt of its evil . Any so-called biblical argument can be swept aside by the testimony of history, if that testimony shows that a given doctrine has led men away from righteousness.

Take another example: futuristic schemes of prophecy. A Christian may argue all day long from the Bible about the propriety of speculative "end-times" ideas. But point him to the witness of history. Show him how such ideas have brought discredit upon the church. Let the fruits of such doctrine speak for themselves: an obsessive study of futuristic schemes has historically lead to fanaticism, date-setting, bizarre doctrines, distractions from the gospel.

Conclusion

The Bible is undoubtedly stamped with the influences of heaven. This is undeniable. Still, some may object that I have left no "absolute authority" to replace the Bible's. That is precisely the point. We see in a glass, darkly. We have no absolutely perfect standard of doctrine anywhere. The quest for such a standard is a quest for security. Faith does not always guarantee this; it is often fraught with tension. Besides, if we are living out the example of Christ — the love, sacrifice, self-denial, humility, faith recorded (albeit imperfectly) in the gospels — why do we need anything else?

Christians concern themselves excessively with having right opinions. They go to the Bible as their perfect guide. They study the Greek, pore over concordances, read commentaries. Having done this, they announce they have "God's truth" on a particular subject. Unfortunately, another astute believer may go through the same studying ritual and arrive at an opposite conclusion. His detractors will say his view is unbiblical; he will say the same of theirs (possibly even adding that they are deceived by Satan). All of this work is done for the grand virtue of "sound doctrine," which is a profoundly overrated virtue after all. Having accurate opinions on theological matters is not an emphasis in Jesus' teachings. The preoccupation with "orthodoxy" has done little, if any good, throughout religious history. And the fighting, the schisms it produces violate the pure spirit of the gospel. It is time for us to begin majoring in the majors, not in abstractions.

If we end up making some doctrinal mistakes along the way, we expect God to graciously pardon us. After all, it is the pure in heart, not the accurate in dogma, who will see God. ________________________________________ 1 Terry, Milton Spenser, sermon "The Apostolic Interpretation of Christ," from Treasury of the World’s Great Sermons, compiled by Warren W. Wiersbe, Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1982, page 595. 2 Dewey, Orville, Dewey’s Works, Vol. III: Discourses and Reviews Upon Questions in Controversial Theology and Practical Religion, New York: Charles S. Francis Co., 1873, page 260.

[pennstateuniversitypress]

Q&A with Adriaan van Klinken

Popular narratives cite religion as the driving force behind homophobia in Africa, portraying Christianity and LGBT expression as incompatible. Without denying Christianity’s contribution to the stigma, discrimination, and exclusion of same-sex-attracted and gender-variant people on the continent, Adriaan van Klinken presents an alternative narrative, foregrounding the ways in which religion also appears as a critical site of LGBT activism.

What inspired you to write Kenyan, Christian, Queer?

I have been following and studying the role of religion in the politics of homosexuality in Africa for the past decade. Initially my work focused on Zambia, and in several articles, I tried to make sense of religious discourses and politics opposing LGBT people and campaigning against the recognition of their human rights. I did consider writing a book about this, yet I asked myself: Do I really want to spend several years of my life writing about what, in the end, is religiously inspired sociopolitical homophobia? What does it do to me, personally, emotionally, and intellectually, to invest my time and energies in such a project?

I ended up coediting two book volumes on religion and the politicisation of homosexuality in Africa, but decided that my own major project would approach the subject from a different, more positive and constructive angle—and also from an angle that stayed closer to myself as a gay person who has been exposed to more than enough religiously inspired negative messages about homosexuality and who does not want to voluntarily encounter more.

What is the current situation regarding LGBT rights in Kenya?

Kenya, like most other former British colonies in Africa, still has the colonial anti-sodomy laws in place. Thus same-sex practices are legally prohibited, but identifying as LGBT is not in conflict with the law. A recent petition in the High Court to decriminalise homosexuality was, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Yet in a number of other cases in recent years, Kenyan courts have ruled in favour of LGBT-related issues. For instance, in 2014 the High Court ruled that a transgender organisation should be allowed to register as an NGO; the following year, a similar ruling was made for a gay and lesbian organisation. Thus the right to freedom of association, guaranteed in the Constitution, was effectively applied to LGBT groups, and the right to protection against discrimination was applied to sexual orientation and gender identity. Last year, the court of appeal in Kenya’s second-largest city, Mombasa, ruled that forced anal examination of people accused of same-sex activity is unconstitutional, as it violates the right to privacy.

What helps is that the media sector in Kenya is relatively free, and several newspapers and TV and radio stations in the country report on LGBT-related issues in a nuanced and sometimes explicitly supportive way. There is reason for optimism, although things change more slowly than one might wish.

How do LGBT communities and activists organize and present themselves in Kenyan society?

There is quite a well-organised and publicly visible LGBT movement, making use of a wide range of forms of activism, advocacy, and community organisation. There are several established groups and organisations, both nationally and regionally, working to defend and promote the human rights of sexual minorities, run media campaigns, educate the public, lobby for legal and political change, sensitise the police, et cetera. They also provide sexual and mental health support to community members and offer legal and practical support to members in situations of difficulties around employment and housing. Local community groups play a critical role in socially empowering members and creating networks of informal support. Some of these groups work explicitly on a faith basis, and one of them, Cosmopolitan Affirming Church in Nairobi, is featured as a case study in my book.

In addition to those forms of activism, it is interesting that Kenya in recent years has witnessed increased LGBT visibility through more artistic and creative forms. For instance, two books with Kenyan LGBT life stories were published—Invisible: Stories from Kenya’s Queer Community, collected by Kevin Mwachiro (2014), and Stories of Our Lives, collected by art collective The Nest (2015)—using storytelling as an activist and political method. Three LGBT-themed films have been produced in Kenya just over the past five years: Stories of Our Lives (2014), Same Love (2016), and Rafiki (2018). Lastly, Kenyan literary writer Binyavanga Wainaina, who unfortunately recently passed away, came out as gay in 2014 and since then had used literary writing, social media, and video performances to comment on LGBT issues in Kenya (and Africa more widely) and to develop a creative African queer imagination. In my book, I focus on these artistic and creative forms of activism, what I call “arts of resistance.”

What are the connections between African American and African LGBT movements?

The connection with African American traditions emerged as a theme in my research that I had not anticipated. The Kenyan LGBT church mentioned earlier has strong links with an African American organisation, called The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM), which aims to promote an “inclusive gospel” in the black church in the United States. At the time of the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill, they also became active in Africa, seeking to counteract the work of conservative (and mostly white) American evangelical Christian movements. TFAM locates itself in the tradition of black progressive Christianity and considers itself heir to the civil rights movement with legendary figures like Martin Luther King Jr. King is also mentioned in the “Same Love” music video and in the writing of Wainaina, who also frequently invokes James Baldwin. Wainaina refers to them as black icons of freedom and as sources of inspiration for new African queer social and political imaginations.

In these various cases of Kenyan LGBT activism we see a new, pan-African vision emerge that is proudly black and African, queer and religious. Black history in the United States is an inspiration for LGBT activists in Kenya to be persistent and resilient in their struggle and to pursue their dream, with King, that one day, “all God’s children” will be “free at last!”

Learn more about Kenyan, Christian, Queer and pre-order your copy today: http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-08380-3.html

Use code NR18 for 30% off.

[kamalamackerel]

My Body Is the Ocean Exhibition [+perf] by Kama La Mackerel

[La version française suit]

MY BODY IS THE OCEAN

An exhibition by Kama La Mackerel

Artist in Residence

P. Lantz Initiative for Excellence in Education and the Arts

May 3 - 17, 2017

Curriculum Resources Centre (1st floor)

Faculty of Education

3700 McTavish

H3A 1Y2

VERNISSAGE + PERFORMANCE

May 4, 2017

Vernissage 5-8pm

Performance 6:30-7:30pm

ACCESSIBILITY INFO:

The building is wheelchair accessible from the side entrance (north side of the building) where there are automatic doors. Wheelchair users can come through the Peel Street side of the building (3699 Peel St). The McTavish side is not accessible at the moment because of road construction.

For the past 8 months, multi-disciplinary artist and arts facilitator, Kama La Mackerel, has been in residence at the Faculty of Education at McGill University. During this time, Kama has worked on several creative and research projects each exploring the potential of artistic practices as resistance to colonial violence.

Amongst others, Kama has designed a series of 3 arts-based anti-oppression training workshops that she ran amongst students; she conceived and performed a 3-hour durational piece to engage with the ongoing trauma of microaggressions in institutions of learning; she curated SPEAK B(L)ACK, an all-Black performance night as part of Black History Month; she curated and hosted her annual QTBIPOC community show, The Self-Love Cabaret: l'amour se conjugue à la première personne; she developed the manuscript for her upcoming spoken-word one-woman show, also the title of her poetry collection, My Body Is the Ocean; she painted a series of water-colours inspired by poetic imagery from My Body Is The Ocean; she reclaimed public spaces through trans-positive affirmations through her textile installation "Remember Trans Power"; she worked on an audio-visual series on decolonization (in FR, with ENG subtitles) in collaboration with Le Délit, and she wrote a bunch of articles & spoke at galleries, universities and community dinners (audio recordings from some of these talks will soon be digitally released!)

Through this exhibition, you are invited to engage with some of the material developed by Kama during the course of this residency.

LIST OF WORK PRESENTED:

My Body Is the Ocean (performance: May 4, 6:30-7:30pm)

My Body Is the Ocean (water colour)

Remember Trans Power (textiles, acrylic)

UN/FREEZE (textiles, paper, metal wires)

Bois d’Ébène (textiles, paper, metal)

ARTIST BIO:

Kama La Mackerel is a tio’tia:ke/Montreal-based performer, writer, poet, story-teller, curator and multi-disciplinary artist whose work explores aesthetic practices as forms of resistance and/or healing for marginalized communities. Using photography, ​poetry​, textiles, performance and digital arts, Kama's work is both deeply personal and political, articulating an anti-colonial praxis through cultural production. Kama is the co-founder of Qouleur, an annual arts festival and healing space by and for queer and trans artists of colour, and the founder & hostess of GENDER B(L)ENDER, Montréal’s monthly queer open stage. Kama was born in Mauritius, immigrated to India as a young adult, and has been living in tio’tia:ke/Montréal since 2012. Kama is presently working on her new one-woman spoken-word show, also the title of her upcoming poetry collection My Body Is the Ocean.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK PRESENTED:

PERFORMANCE

My Body Is the Ocean - new performances from the one-woman show.

May 4, 6:30-7:30pm

My Body Is the Ocean is a collection of lyric poems that braid together voices across lineages of Mauritian women, femmes, spirits and goddesses. Seeking healing from the trauma of plantation heritage, Kama La Mackerel uses her poetry to find new languages of love with which to repair the severed relationships of her family and her ancestries. Oscillating like waves between ocean & island, past & present, childhood & adulthood, rage & forgiveness, family history & colonial history, My Body Is the Ocean is a painful yet celebratory journey into a trans femme identity that refuses to be defined and confined to colonial gender narratives.

WATER COLOUR SERIES

My Body Is the Ocean is an aquarelle series that explores imagery from Kama La Mackerel's poetry collection through water-colour. Through this series, the artist attempts to find "languages without words" with which to articulate the unnameable haunting of colonial pain and the ancestral longings for love & reconciliation.

TEXTILES SERIES

Remember Trans Power is a textile installation that reclaims public spaces through trans-positive affirmations. The series is painted on long stretches of silk that used to be saris that belonged to the artist’s mother: she wore them for years and then gifted them to the artist. This offering of femme clothing, from mother to daughter, was a moment of reconciliation that gestured at forgiveness after three decades of gendered violence.

In this series, Kama La Mackerel paints short, trans-positive affirmations on these saris, a couple of which have also acted as banners in the Montréal trans march. This series merges the personal into the political, it folds the public into the private: the banners occupy public space while holding the fabric of deeply personal acts of love & forgiveness.

The affirmations are kept simple and to the point, as a choice: in a contemporary context where the mainstream media sets the agenda for “the trans tipping point” discussions are often clouded with unnecessary debate while the message, for Kama La Mackerel is rather clear: PROTECT TRANS YOUTH. HONOUR TRANS ELDERS. LOVE FOR TRANS WOMEN OF COLOUR. REMEMBER TRANS POWER. CELEBRATE TRANS HISTORY.

INSTALLATIONS

UN/FREEZE is a 3-D installation that Kama La Mackerel created in November 2016 through an interactive 3-hour durational performance piece. UN/FREEZE explored the embodied and emotional reaction of “freezing” when experiencing a micro-aggression. By wearing chicken wires around her body to restrict her movements and very slowly moving her body through postures of discomfort, the artist instilled the hardness, pain and discomfort of the marginalized body in institutional spaces that are not safe.

The audience was invited to participate in the performance by writing testimonies of a time they experienced micro-aggressions within institutions. They rolled the testimonies and left them behind as part of the installation, which grew heavier with the stories as the performance progressed. The installation remains, beyond the performance, reminiscent of the ways that the trauma of micro-aggressions can inhabit marginalized bodies for long after their occurence.

Bois d’Ébène is both a 3-D piece and a wearable garment, made of left-over material traces from two performances. In August 2012, Kama La Mackerel performed “WHAT YOU LOOKING AT?” at La Centrale, Galerie Powerhouse (Montreal, QC). In this durational and interactive performance piece, she explored the figure of the fleur-de-lys to interrogate the ways in which trans and gender non-conforming bodies of colour are surveilled through racist, trans misogynist and nationalist gazes. In August 2016, she performed “Bois d’Ébène” at Fonderie Darling (Montreal, QC). In this piece she engages with Québec’s Slave history by grieving and conjuring the voices of the Slave ancestors on whose broken backs the modern nation was built. As part of these performances, the artist used paper cut-outs of fleur-de-lys as well as fabric cut-outs in shape of the map of Quebec. Bois d’Ébène is a femme armour made of the left-over cut-outs and other material from these performances. With this installation, Kama La Mackerel uses deconstruction as an aesthetic to critique nationalist discourses and to point to the fallacy of universalism and singular narratives characteric of nationalisms. (Bois d’Ébène is a piece from Kama La Mackerel’s From Thick Skin to Femme Armour project: http://femme-armour.tumblr.com/)

**//**//**//**//**//**//**

MON CORPS EST L’OCÉAN

Une exposition de Kama La Mackerel

Artiste en résidence

P. Lantz Initiative for Excellence in Education and the Arts

3 au 17 mai 2017

Bibliothèque des sciences de l’éducation (1er étage)

Faculté des sciences de l’éducation

Université McGill

3700 McTavish

H3A 1Y2

VERNISSAGE + PERFORMANCE

4 mai, 2017

Vernissage 5-8pm

Performance 6:30-7:30pm

INFORMATION CONCERNANT L’ACCESSIBILITÉ:

L’édifice est accessible aux personnes à mobilité réduite à travers l’entrée située sur le flanc nord du bâtiment, où il y a des boutons automatiques. Les personnes à mobilité réduite peuvent accéder l’entrée du côté de la rue Peel (3699 Peel St). Le côté de McTavish n’est pas accessible à cause des constructions sur ce côté de la rue.

Au cours des 8 derniers mois, l’artiste pluridisciplinaire et médiatrice en arts communautaires, Kama La Mackerel, a été en résidence à la Faculté des sciences de l’éducation à l'Université McGill. Durant cette période, Kama a développé plusieurs projets de recherche et de création qui explorent les pratiques artistiques comme résistance à la violence coloniale.

Entre autres, Kama a conçu une série de 3 ateliers en anti-oppression basés dans le pratiques d’art, et qu’elle a offert aux étudiant.e.s de McGill; elle a conçu et réalisé une performance de 3 heures sur le traumatisme continu des micro-agressions dans les établissements d’éducation; elle a organisé une soirée de performances dans le cadre du Mois de l'histoire des Noir.e.s; elle a programmé et animé son spectacle communautaire annuel avec des artist.e.s queer et trans racisé.e.s, «Le Self-Love Cabaret: l'amour se conjugue à la première personne»; elle a développé le manuscrit pour son prochain spectacle de spoken word, aussi le titre de sa collection de poésie, My Body Is the Ocean; elle a peint une série d’aquarelles inspirée par l'imagerie poétique de My Body Is The Ocean; elle a réclamé des espaces publics par l'intermédiaire de son installation textile "Remember Trans Power"; elle a travaillé sur une série audio-visuelle sur la décolonisation (en FR, avec des sous-titres ENG) en collaboration avec Le Délit, et elle a écrit des articles et a donné des conférences dans des galeries, des universités et lors de soupers communautaires (certaines de ces conférences ont été enregistrées et seront bientôt diffusées en ligne.)

À travers cette exposition, vous être invité.e.s à un engagement avec le corpus du travail développé par l’artiste lors de cette résidence.

LISTE DE TRAVAUX EXPOSÉS:

Mon corps est l’océan (performance: 4 mai, 6:30pm-7:30pm)

Mon corps est l’océan (aquarelle)

Remember Trans Power (textiles, acrylique)

UN/FREEZE (textiles, papier, grillage en métal)

Bois d’Ébène (textiles, papier, métal)

BIO:

Kama La Mackerel est écrivaine, poétesse, conteuse, commissaire et artiste pluridisciplinaire, basée à tio’tia:ke/Montréal. Son travail explore les pratiques esthétiques comme formes de résistance et/ou de guérison (“healing”) pour les communautés marginalisées. Utilisant la photographie, la poésie, les textiles, la performance et les arts numériques, le travail de Kama est à la fois profondément personnel et politique, articulant une pratique anti-coloniale à travers la production culturelle. Kama est la cofondatrice de Qouleur, un festival annuel d’arts et un espace communautaire pour les personnes queer et trans racisées, et elle est la fondatrice et l’animatrice de GENDER B(L)ENDER, le cabaret open-mic queer de Montréal. Kama est née à l'île Maurice et elle a d’abord émigré en Inde avant de s’installer à tio’tia:ke/Montréal en 2012. Kama travaille présentement sur son one-woman show de spoken word, My Body Is the Ocean, qui est aussi le titre de son recueil de poésie.

DESCRIPTION DES TRAVAUX EXPOSÉS:

PERFORMANCE

Mon corps est l’océan - nouvelles performances du show de spoken word.

4 mai, 6:30-7:30pm

My Body Is the Ocean est une collection de poésie lyrique qui tressent les voix entre les lignées des femmes, les voix spirituelles et les déesses féminines et mauriciennes. Dans une démarche de guérison des traumatismes sur une île ressentant la violence coloniale des plantations, Kama La Mackerel utilise la poésie pour trouver de nouvelles langues pour parler d’amour et pour réparer les relations rompues de sa famille et de ses ancêtres. Oscillant comme des vagues entre l’île et l’océan, le passé et le présent, l'enfance et l'âge adulte, la rage et le pardon, l'histoire familiale et l'histoire coloniale, Mon corps est l’océan, un voyage douloureux et festif dans une identité trans féminine qui refuse d'être défini par des récits coloniaux.

SÉRIE DE PEINTURES AQUARELLES

Mon corps est l’océan est une série de peintures à l’eau qui explore l’imagerie du recueil de poésie de Kama La Mackerel. Avec cette série, l'artiste essaie de trouver des «langues sans mots» pour articuler l’hantise de la douleur coloniale et des désirs ancestraux d’amour et de réconciliation.

SERIES TEXTILES

Remember Trans Power est une installation textile qui réclame les espaces publics grâce à des affirmations trans positives. La série est peinte sur des étendues de soie qui sont des saris qui appartenaient à la mère de l'artiste: elle les a porté pendant des années et les a offert à l’artiste. Ce don de vêtements féminins, de mère en fille, représente un moment de réconciliation et de pardon après des années de violence genrée.

Dans cette série, Kama La Mackerel peint des affirmations courtes et trans positives sur ces saris, dont plusieurs ont également servi des banderoles à la marche trans de Montréal, Euphorie dans le genre. Cette série fusionne ainsi le personnel dans le politique, elle plie le public dans le privé: ces banderoles occupent l'espace public tout en conservant le tissu d'actes profondément personnels d'amour et de pardon.

Les affirmations sont délibérément simples, claires et directes: dans un contexte contemporain où les médias mainstream établissent les points de discussions du «trans tipping point», discussions qui sont souvent floues et pleines de “derailing,” le message pour Kama La Mackerel est plutôt clair: PROTÉGEONS LA JEUNESSE TRANS. HONORONS LES AÎNÉ.E.S TRANS. AIMONS LES FEMMES TRANS RACISÉES. COMMÉMORONS LE TRANS POWER.. CÉLÉBRONS L’HISTOIRE DE LA RÉSISTANCE TRANS.

INSTALLATIONS

UN / FREEZE est une installation 3-D que Kama La Mackerel a créée en novembre 2016 à travers une performance interactive d’une durée de 3 heures. UN / FREEZE explore la réaction incarnée et émotionnelle du «freezing» lors d'une micro-agression. En portant du grillage métallique autour de son corps , le mouvement restraint, l’artiste déplace très lentement son corps d’une posture inconfortable à une autre. L’artiste inculque ainsi la dureté, la douleur et l'inconfort du corps marginalisé dans des espaces institutionnels qui ne sont pas sécuritaires.

Le public été invité à participer à la performance en écrivant des témoignages d’une micro-agression vécue au sein d’une institution. Les participant-es ont par la suite enroulé leur témoignage et les ont laissés derrière dans le cadre de l’installation dont le poids augmente avec chaque témoignage. L'installation reste, au-delà de la performance, nous rappelant que les traumatismes des micro-agressions peut habiter les corps marginalisés pendant longtemps.

Bois d'Ébène est à la fois une installation 3-D et un vêtement, composé de fragments et de traces restantes de deux performances. En août 2012, Kama La Mackerel présente la performance “WHAT YOU LOOKING AT?” à La Centrale, Galerie Powerhouse (Montréal, QC). Dans cette prestation interactive de longue durée, elle figure le fleur-de-lys pour interroger la manière dont les corps racisées trans et non-binaires sont scrutés par des regards racistes, trans misogynes et nationalistes. En août 2016, elle présente "Bois d'Ébène" à La Fonderie Darling (Montréal, QC). Dans cette performance, l’artiste articule un engagement avec l’histoire esclavagiste du Québec en se lamentant, en gémissant pour conjurer les voix des ancêtres esclaves qui ont été détruit-e-s dans la construction de l’état nation. Dans le cadre des ces performances, l’artiste a utilisé des découpages en papier en fleur de lys et des découpes de tissus en carte du Québec. Bois d’Ébène est une armure féminine composée de débris et de traces de ces performances. Dans cette installation, Kama La Mackerel se sert de la déconstruction comme esthétique pour critiquer l’universalisme et la fausse singularité des discours nationalistes (Bois d'Ébène fait partie du projet peaux épaisses//armures féminines de l’artiste: http://femme-armour.tumblr.com/)

[sammy24682468]

Mercy and Justice. Lesson 4

Mercy and Justice. Lesson 4

"Memory Text: “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3, 4, NKJV)."

"Psalms and Proverbs depict the experience of living with God in the common things of life, not just in times of worship or in other religious activities. While the book of Proverbs offers a range of practical wisdom—from relationships and families to business and government—Psalms is a collection of songs that cover a variety of emotions and spiritual experiences from laments to exultant praise and everything in between. It is easy to see that our faith should make a difference in every aspect and experience of our lives, because God cares about every aspect of our lives."

"Meanwhile, any reflection on life in this fallen world could hardly ignore the injustice that so permeates the human condition. In fact, injustice is repeatedly described as something that our Lord cares about and seeks to relieve. It is He who is the hope of the hopeless."

"Though we can only touch on what these books say about this topic, perhaps this lesson might inspire you to be more proactive in ministering to the needs of the poor, the oppressed, and the forgotten who exist all around us and whom we are obligated to help."

Songs if hope for the oppressed

"As we have already noted, God sees and hears people who are in distress and trouble. Most often in the Psalms we hear those cries from people who have trusted in God but are not seeing justice done. The affirmations of the goodness, justice, and power of God can seem overwhelmed by the injustice and oppression that the voices in these songs experience or observe."

"Yet, these are the songs of those who are still singing. Neither their life nor their faith has been quenched. There is still hope; and the urgency is for God to act before it is too late, before evil triumphs, before the oppressed are destroyed by the weight of the evil brought against them. In this way, the writers of the Psalms try to bridge the gap between the affirmations of their faith and the trials and tragedies of life."

"Read Psalm 9:7-9, 13-20. Can you imagine the circumstances David—the writer of the psalm—was in? Can you feel the tension between his faith in God’s goodness and his present experience? How have you dealt with the struggle of faith in God amid times of severe trial?"

"Throughout the Psalms, the repeated answer to this tension is the hope and promise of God’s good and just judgment. Evil and injustice may seem triumphant for now, but God will judge the evildoers and the unjust. They will be punished, while those they have hurt and oppressed will be restored and renewed."

"In Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis describes his initial surprise at the excitement and longing for God’s judgment as expressed repeatedly in the Psalms. Observing that many Bible readers today consider judgment something to be feared, he considers the original Jewish perspective and writes, “Thousands of people who have been stripped of all they possess and who have the right entirely on their side will at last be heard. Of course they are not afraid of judgment. They know their case is unanswerable—if only it could be heard. When God comes to judge, at last it will.”—C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1958), p. 11."

"In the Psalms, we see hope for the oppressed, even now, even amid their present sufferings and disappointments."

"Do Something, God!"

"Read Psalm 82." What is the message here to us...

"Despite the ordering and rules of society that God gave to them, at various times in their history the Israelites failed to live up to this plan. They too easily became like the nations around them, living by a pattern of injustice and oppression. Leaders and judges looked after only themselves, and their favor could be purchased with bribes. Without courts to protect them, ordinary people, and the poor especially, were subject to exploitation."

"Psalm 82 is a response to such a situation. It describes God’s role as Supreme Judge, and it depicts a scene in which He judges the leaders and even the judges of the people. This psalm emphasizes that those who fill such roles in society “are appointed to act as judges under Him.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 198. They hold their position and conduct their work as representatives and subordinates of God. In the psalmist’s view, the justice of God is a model for how earthly justice should function, and it also provides the measure against which such justice or injustice—and those who dispense it—will be judged."

"The psalm concludes with a specific call for God to act (Ps. 82:8), to intervene and to stop the injustice that is so prevalent in the nation. Like many of the psalms, this one gives a voice to the voiceless and to the oppressed, those whose voices have been silenced by the unjust systems in which they live and work."

"Psalm 82 makes an appeal to God in His position of Supreme Judge and Sovereign Ruler of the universe and of all the nations. There is no higher court or authority to which such an appeal could be made. The assurance comes that when earthly courts do not hear or uphold the cries of the poor and oppressed, which is so often the case here, there is still an undeniable opportunity to call for help."

"At different times in our lives we might find ourselves as victims of injustice, but at other times we might be the one committing or profiting from injustice. In passages such as Psalm 82, we can find insight and wisdom, whether we are the oppressed or the oppressor. God is concerned for the unjust judges, too, describing them as His children and wanting them to choose to live better (see Ps. 82:6). Thus, there’s hope even for those on the wrong side of oppression, if they will allow themselves to be changed."

A king's promise

"Read Psalm 101. Though written for leaders, what important counsel can we take from it for ourselves, whatever our position in life?"

"Psalm 101 is a text for leaders. It is thought that these verses were composed by David in the early days of his reign as king of Israel. They may even have been adapted from vows that he made at the time of becoming king. In his experiences as a warrior for Saul and then a fugitive from him, he had witnessed for himself how a king who loses his way could damage the nation and his family. David determined that he was going to be a different kind of leader."

"Few of us might be political or national leaders, but we all have roles in life in which we have the opportunity to influence and encourage others. These might be in our working life, community involvement, family, or church. As Ellen G. White comments on one of these settings of leadership, “the vows of David, recorded in the 101st psalm, should be the vows of all upon whom rest the responsibilities of guarding the influences of the home.”—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 119."

"As we have opportunity, we should be prepared to suggest and uphold these principles to those who fill positions of leadership over us. And all of us, in our leadership and places of influence, have the opportunity to apply David’s leadership principles in order to help us be a blessing to others."

"The starting point for David is honoring God for His mercy and justice (Ps. 101:1), which became the foundation for everything David sought to uphold by his leadership. He sought to learn and practice these same characteristics in his life and work. To do this, he must resist the temptations toward wrongdoing, corruption, and dishonesty, all of which are particular traps for those in positions of power and leadership."

"Knowing how important good counselors were to help him to do right, David pledges to seek out trustworthy advisers and to appoint honest officials. Justice and mercy were to mark his leadership, even among those who worked with and for him."

Walking with the Lord

"As we near the end of the book of Psalms, the exclamations of praise seem to grow in crescendo after crescendo. The final five psalms begin with a simple and direct command to “Praise the Lord!” but the first of these—Psalm 146—has a particular focus on God’s concern for the poor and oppressed as a primary reason for such praise."

"Read Psalm 146. What is the message here to us? What is the psalmist saying, especially in Psalm 146:5-9?"

"As surely as God is Creator of this world (see Ps. 146:6), this psalm describes God’s continuing work in the world as judge, provider, liberator, healer, helper, and defender—all of these focused on people in specific need of these kinds of help. It is an inspiring vision of what God does and seeks to do in our lives, in our communities, and in our world."

"Sometimes we think of caring for the needy as something we ought to do because God said so. But Psalm 146 says this is something God already does—and we are invited to join with Him. When we work against poverty, oppression, and disease, we are truly working with God and His purposes. What greater privilege can there be than partnering with God in fulfilling something as inspiring as Psalm 146?"

"But there also are benefits for us. Christians often talk about their search for God and their desire to have a closer relationship with Him. Yet, verses such as Psalm 146:7-9, and so many others throughout the Bible, indicate to us that one way to find God is to join in with what He does. So, if He is working to lift up the poor, sick, and oppressed, as Psalm 146 says He is, we should be working with Him, as well. “Christ came to this earth to walk and work among the poor and suffering. They received the greatest share of His attention. And today, in the person of His children, He visits the poor and needy, relieving woe and alleviating suffering."

"“Take away suffering and need, and we should have no way of understanding the mercy and love of God, no way of knowing the compassionate, sympathetic heavenly Father. Never does the gospel put on an aspect of greater loveliness than when it is brought to the most needy and destitute regions.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 226."

PROVERBS,. Mercy on the needy

"As a collection of wisdom sayings, the book of Proverbs touches on a diverse range of topics and life experiences. Among these are reflections on poverty, riches, contentment, justice, and injustice—and sometimes from differing angles. Life is not always simple and straightforward, and Proverbs alerts us to the different circumstances and choices that influence how life is lived, even among those who are faithful to God."

"Read and compare Proverbs 10:4; 13:23, 25; 14:31; 15:15, 16; 19:15, 17; and 30:7-9. What are these texts saying that is relevant to wealth, poverty, and helping those in need?"

"Proverbs emphasizes the concern and attention God has for the poor and vulnerable. Sometimes people are poor because of circumstances, poor choices, or exploitation, but whatever the causes of their situation, the Lord is still described as their Creator (see Prov. 22:2) and Defender (see Prov. 22:22, 23). These people are not to be oppressed or taken advantage of, whatever their mistakes."

"While Proverbs does offer a better life through choosing wisdom and obeying God, riches are not always the result of God’s blessing. Faithfulness to God is always seen as more important and ultimately more rewarding than material gain: “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice” (Prov. 16:8, NIV)."

"Another concern in Proverbs is honesty and fair dealing in business, government, and in administering justice (see Prov. 14:5, 25; 16:11-13; 17:15; 20:23; 21:28; 28:14-16). Proverbs is not only concerned with the lives of individuals but also offers insight as to how society as a whole should function for the benefit of all, particularly for those who need protection. We are reminded again that at their best, those who govern and lead do so with the help of God (see Prov. 8:15, 16) and should be acting as agents of His grace and compassion toward those in need."

FURTHER THOUGHTS

"“The psalms of David pass through the whole range of experience, from the depths of conscious guilt and self-condemnation to the loftiest faith and the most exalted communing with God. His life record declares that sin can bring only shame and woe, but that God’s love and mercy can reach to the deepest depths, that faith will lift up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God. Of all the assurances which His word contains, it is one of the strongest testimonies to the faithfulness, the justice, and the covenant mercy of God.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 754."

"Referring to the wisdom in the book of Proverbs: “These are principles with which are bound up the well-being of society, of both secular and religious associations. It is these principles that give security to property and life. For all that makes confidence and cooperation possible, the world is indebted to the law of God, as given in His word, and as still traced, in lines often obscure and well-nigh obliterated, in the hearts of men.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 137."

"Summary: Psalms and Proverbs are two books particularly tuned to the challenges of living faithfully amid life’s common experiences and trials. Both offer insights into God’s vision for society and His special concern for the poor and oppressed. The cry of the Psalms and the wisdom of Proverbs are that God does notice and will intervene to protect those too often ignored or exploited. And if that’s what God’s about, it’s what we should be about, as well."

[liberalcom-blog]

Wicca Oracle (Lo Scarabeo Oracles)

https://liber-al.com/?p=43101&wpwautoposter=1563045766 Divine your way to self-knowledge and awareness. Built upon the core beliefs and traditions of Wicca, this vividly illustrated oracle can put you in touch with the sacred gods and goddesses. Whether you’re seeking spiritual wisdom or answers to everyday questions, the Wicca Oracle offers inspiration and an illuminating perspective. The companion booklets for most Lo Scarabeo decks are in five languages: English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Editorial Reviews Summary: The Wicca Oracle Cards invite the user’s intuition and imagination into each quiet image. Each card is a doorway leading to worlds waiting to be explored. By going through these charming and deceptively simple portals, seekers can find answers and guidance. Full Review: This kit is a repackaging of an older kit called Wiccan Cards . The new version has several improvements. It uses the same card images but the cards are larger, with lovely decorative purple borders and the addition of textured silver foil that is used in the borders and is incorporated into the images themselves, giving them more interest and life. Perhaps even more important is the longer booklet, written by Lunaea Weatherstone, an accomplished writer and High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Silver Branch. This new booklet fills in many of the gaps left by the old one and makes the oracle more useful to beginners. Oracle decks can be great additions to one’s divinatory tool box. However, all oracle decks are not created equally. Because they do not have a built in structure, such as tarot decks do, they run the risk of being a random and arbitrary collection of lovely pictures. Although, even this is even too harsh a criticism, for anyone can, if they set their mind to it, find an omen or message in anything. This lack of definition makes reviewing an oracle deck all the more difficult. For what does one base one’s critique on? There is no required structure; there are no clear expectations. The question often becomes: does it perform as an oracle? A good question perhaps, but then so much depends on the skill of the reader, doesn’t it? Some readers can read the steam off your coffee while others may be, shall we say, less proficient. In addition, oracle decks require that you get to know them, to understand how they work, and to allow them to play with your intuitive and psychic methods. It is a relationship that must be built between the user and the cards-and it can take time. In reviewing the Wicca Oracle , we’ll consider a few specific aspects: theme and structure, imagery, instructions/interpretations provided, and how to best work with them. The theme of the Wicca Oracle is clear: Wicca, primarily Celtic. The theme shapes the structure as well as the symbols and messages. The thirty-three cards are divided into five groups. There are four element cards represented not by element but by the Wiccan tool associated with the element. The Athame for air, the Pentacle for earth, the Cup for water, and the Wand for fire. In the booklet, it is noted they relate to the directions as well: east, north, west, and south respectively. Jumping ahead to discuss imagery, there is little on the cards to indicate the elements. The Wand and The Cup show fire and water, while the Sword and the Pentacle do not show air or earth. Also, none have any indication that I can see of the direction it represents. The positive side of this lack of directional representation is that some practitioners assign different directions to the elements. However, it is a weakness in a deck that claims it can be a first introduction to the Wiccan Way of Life. An introductory deck should include visual cues to help the beginner learn. Luckily, this deck now includes a longer booklet with more details and instructions, making this well suited to beginners as well as much seasoned practitioners. There are two deity cards, one to represent the Goddess and one for the God-Aradia and Cerunnos, respectively. Eight cards represent each of the Sabbats-Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, Samhain, and Yule. Three cards are called Master cards and represent the Otherworld, the Three Wise Ones, and the Oak Tree. The last sixteen cards are symbol cards and include: spiral, cat, ring, mask, kettle, raven, butterfly, book of shadows, mandrake, fox, tree of life, broom, pond, chariot, mare, and Celtic harp. The imagery is charming but lacks immediacy. Most of the cards nicely illustrate what they are supposed to. Imbolc shows a sheep and two lambs in the snow with a few early flowers blooming. It is pastoral and very sweet. It adequately illustrates how many people think of Imbolc. The kettle shows an iron kettle with a spout hanging from a chain. Liquid is inside and steam rising up. One must imagine a fire beneath it, as there isn’t one in the picture. The broom shows a picture of a broom leaning in a corner with a picture of a flowering tree on the wall behind it. They are all exactly what they say they are. But they are quiet. They are not cards that most people can pick up, shuffle, lay down and do a quick reading with. They are more of an invitation than a message. They are soft-spoken and to use them, you must approach them gently, with a calm and receptive spirit. The book includes instructions for using the cards for readings and for magical purposes. For each card, Lunaea provides background for the symbol, its upright and reversed meaning, keywords, an affirmation, and a challenge. This deck is most suited, I think, for Wiccan practitioners who want an oracle deck to act as a doorway for their own spirit and intuition. These simple cards invite meditation and reflection. To just look at, say, the broom card and expect an instant trigger or clear answer will be disappointing. However, to gaze at the broom and let your mind wander and imagine the picture coming to life (is the broom sweeping or flying out of the picture which has somehow become a window?) will yield much more satisfactory results. Deck Attributes Name of deck: Wicca Oracle Reviewer’s Byline: Barbara Moore Publisher: Lo Scarabeo ISBN: 9780738735467 Creator(s) name(s): Nada Mesar Brief biography of creator(s): Nada Mesar lives in Germany and works as a cartomancer and scryer. She is a Celtic Wicca Elder. In addition to writing the script for the Wiccan Cards (now known as the Wicca Oracle ), she also wrote the direction for The Sensual Wicca Tarot . Artist(s) name(s): Chatriya Hemharnvibul Brief biography of artist(s): Chatriya Hemharnvibul was born in Bangkok, Thailand, where she works as an artist. She has been influenced by her love for ancient and exotic cultures, fairy tales, and manga. In addition to illustrating the Wiccan Cards , she also painted the art for the Fenestra Tarot . Name of accompanying book/booklet: Wicca Oracle Cards Number of pages of book/booklet: 159 (48 are in English) Author(s) of book/booklet: Lunaea Weatherstone Brief biography of author(s): Lunaea is a talented tarot reader and High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Silver Branch. Available in a boxed kit?: yes If yes, are there extras in the kit? No Magical Uses: spell work and meditation Reading Uses: All Ethnic Focus: Celtic folk magic Artistic Style: painterly with subtle art nouveau influences Theme: Celtic/European Wicca Tarot, Divination Deck, or Other: Oracle deck Why was deck created?: As an oracle system for Wiccans and as a short introduction to Wicca for beginners. Book suggestions for experienced Tarot users and this deck: Wicca for Beginners , The Inner Temple of Witchcraft . Alternative decks you might like: The Well-Worn Path and The Hidden Path , The Tarot for Hip Witches Kit , The Pagan Tarot . – From the Publisher

[its-lifestyle]

This book does not beat about the bush about what it sets out to do, which is to showcase feminist tales featuring bold, bright and heroic women and girls from this part of the world.

This anthology comprises 18 stories that will inspire, entertain and provide food for thought, as it takes young adult readers on a journey of endless possibilities – but with one foot firmly in the here and now, and a reminder of what it is that makes us who we are.

The idea for The Principal Girl: Feminist Tales From Asia (Gerakbudaya) came up in 2016, when Dr Sharifah Aishah Osman from the Department of English at Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences wanted to publish a book of feminist folktales.

A call was issued for submissions – and the stories received were more diverse, more colourful, than initially expected. There were contributions from both established writers as well as newcomers.

“I don’t think anyone has published an anthology of feminist tales,” says children’s book author Tutu Dutta, who co-edited The Principal Girl with Sharifah.

“I was aware of (Amir Muhammad’s imprint) Fixi Novo and (Sharon Bakar’s) Word Works’ successful series of very well-written anthologies by local writers.

“I have read a few, including Chronicles Of KK (edited by Ann Lee), The Remang Anthology (Daphne Lee), and Champion Fellas (Sharon Bakar and Dipika Mukherjee).

“We realised there is a wealth of local talent out there. Since we received quite a number of interesting entries which were contemporary stories, we decided to be flexible and make The Principal Girl a collection of feminist tales, not feminist folktales,” says Dutta, who has nine books to her name, including the anthologies Timeless Tales Of Malaysia (2009) and Nights Of The Dark Moon (2017).

Of the 18 stories in The Principal Girl, 10 are original tales set in contemporary settings, while eight are based on Asian folklore and draw on legendary female figures like Hang Li Po, the princess of Gunung Ledang, Cik Siti Wan Kemboja and Mahsuri.

Dutta, 59, describes the stories as positive and self-affirming; they shine the spotlight on resourceful girls and young women with “can-do” attitudes, determined to live life on their own terms.

“They solve problems or surmount the obstacles that life throws at them,” says Dutta.

There is, for instance, a grievously wounded queen who finds the resolve to fight again, a school girl who solves crimes with some supernatural help, a kungfu-fighting Hang Li Po, a woman who fights for her inheritance, a student who overcomes the trauma of being accused of plagiarism, sisters who risk exile to help one another, and young women who are willing to turn down unsuitable men.

Sharifah concurs, adding that all the stories do indeed have an underlying feminist message, in that they feature a female protagonist and privilege her experiences, and in doing so, highlight the numerous ways in which women and girls have struggled with, but also managed to overcome, issues of marginalisation, injustice and oppression in society.

“We need such empowering stories to address the dismissal, the silence, even erasure of such strong women from our history.” These are women whose contributions may have been ignored, or regarded as insignificant due to the dominance of a patriarchal culture – especially as reflected in male-centric folktales that often feature heroines idealised more for their beauty and passivity than intelligence and courage, says Sharifah, 48.

“Through the retelling of these stories, we hope to remind our readers of such heroic and inspirational women from our own culture and heritage, and to make their acts of bravery and agency a source of our own pride as Malaysians and Asians,” she says.

The target age group for The Principal Girl is 13- to 25-year-olds, although Dutta points out that despite their simple language, there is enough complexity in these tales to appeal to adults too.

Ever mindful of the importance of diverse perspectives and characters in storytelling, The Principal Girl has diverse voices, she says, not just in terms of culture and race, but also age.

“We live in a diverse, multicultural and multiracial society. We need young people to have diverse perspectives not just for the sake of ‘living in harmony’ but for our survival as a society.

“The book is supposed to empower girls but if it gives young readers a greater appreciation of the diverse cultures that make up our society, and a greater understanding and respect for what makes us unique, then all the better,” Dutta says.

As for starting them young on the diversity that is our reality more often than not, Sharifah feels it is “absolutely essential” for children’s intellectual, psychological, and emotional growth.

“Apart from partaking in the joys of reading literature, our young audiences need to have stories that cater to their natural curiosity about diversity and difference, especially in light of an increasing polarised and confusing world. They need to understand that everyone, regardless of race, class, religion and gender, deserves to be treated with respect and compassion.

“It is our hope that The Principal Girl will help towards accomplishing this aim as well as cultivate a sense of pride in our heritage and culture,” she says.

Sharifah adds that they wanted young readers, both boys and girls, to have something of their own to treasure and enjoy, a book that speaks to their own experiences as Asians, and in which they can see characters that look and sound like them, or that they could aspire to become.

“As children’s literature scholar Rudine Sims Bishop reminds us, to nourish their minds and develop a strong sense of self-affirmation, children need books that serve not just as ‘windows’ to other cultures, but also ‘mirrors’ in which they can see themselves and their experiences being reflected.

“That’s why it was important to us that our readers, regardless of gender, understood that like these ‘principal girls’, they too could be brave, smart, resilient, independent, and masters of their own fate,” she offers.

The book’s title, The Principal Girl, refers to the main character in a children’s play or pantomime. Like the strong female figures in these tales, they do not play second fiddle to anyone.

How truly fitting.

A peek behind the scenes

Anna Tan (Operation: Rescue Pris) Writing Operation: Rescue Pris was an offshoot of my research for my novel, Dongeng, for which I worked with local legends such as orang bunian, pontianak and lang suir. I wanted to do more with the amazing legends I’d discovered. The story ended up as a conflation of several themes: the legend of the Gedembai from Langkawi, the legend of Sam Poh in Penang, and overturning the trope of the knight in shining armour. What I loved best about this story was being able to look at local legends and folktales through a modern lens and reinterprete them for our times.

Golda Mowe (Under The Bridge) Writing the story brought back a lot of old memories. I love my visits to the longhouse in my young days because I was free to roam about as I please. There was always some trouble to get into, and always an adult close by to help us kids out of the situation. It was nice to recall the smell and sound of the old longhouse again. I did not realise how much I missed those days until I had to imagine the sunning verandah for the story.

Hezreen Abdul Rashid (The Veiled Knight) My story is about Khawlah Azwar who was an Arab warrior who fought against the Byzantine army together with Khalid Al-Walid. When I first heard this story two years ago, I was inspired to write simply because it is a beautiful story, one that all girls and boys should know. They should know that women who rode horses and wielded swords don’t just exist in Disneyland. They are real. And they did it for the right reasons.

Julya Oui (Surya And The Supernatural Sleuths) I’ve always been intrigued by our local folklore and supernatural myths. They were my staple diet growing up in a small town. When I started writing this story I wanted an independent and strong female protagonist who wasn’t afraid of things that go bump in the dark. She is the embodiment of fortitude, inquisitiveness and compassion which I believe is what a sleuth needs to solve a mystery.

Krishnaveni Panikker (Priya’s Faraway Tree) Seeing my story, Priya’s Faraway Tree, in print is a joy. It is not every day one gets to see her first creative short story published, what more in a feminist anthology. This story took place over four decades ago, and I am hoping that it will be an inspiring message to young females that nothing is impossible if they set their hearts and souls to it.

Leela Chakravarty (Princess Of Mount Ledang) Since there are numerous versions of Princess of Mount Ledang, I got down to researching more on it. It was wonderful that our National Library had lots of short extracts or pieces of stories. I selected the pieces that would be suitable to entertain YA readers and assembled them into a complete story. In the process, I gained lots of new knowledge.

Preeta Samarasan (Red And White and The Girl On The Mountain) What I loved about working on these retellings was that they forced me to analyse and to create simultaneously: First I had to connect with the original folktale on its level, consider the female protagonist(s), who she was and who she might be between the lines. Only then could I bring out those between-the-lines possibilities. In the same way that you have to understand the rules of art before you break them, I had to understand these narratives before I could twist them.

Renie Leng (Saving Grace) As a poet, I find the short story the most challenging form to write in. When writing Saving Grace, I wanted to create a strong contemporary female character who happened to be born into privilege despite the tragedies in her life, and she used the privileges of a good education to save a culturally integral landmark from developers. Her victory seemed an easy resolution but not at a price.

Sharmilla Ganesan (Gamble) Writing this story – a reimagining of a key sequence from the Mahabharata – was an opportunity for me to address an imbalance I felt from a young age, when I first heard the story. It allowed me to look at the character of Draupadi within a modern context, and address issues like consent, agency and ownership over our own bodies.

Wan Phing Lim (House Of Malacca) My story is a fictionalised rendition of the relationship between Hang Li Po and Admiral Cheng Ho. Li Po is escorted by Cheng Ho from China to Melaka, under the disguise of being Sultan Mansur Shah’s bride. Her true purpose is to protect the Sultan from enemies within the palace and to keep the peace amid escalating trade wars in the region. My story draws parallels with Disney’s Mulan and Li Shang, and was also influenced by Esther, a Jewish queen from ancient Persia. My version of Hang Li Po shows that females can be capable warriors, spies, and protectors, embodying both skill and compassion.

from Family – Star2.com https://ift.tt/2HTPybY

[spamzineglasgow]

SPAM Digest #2 (Oct 2018)

A quick list of the editors’ current favourite critical essays, post-internet think pieces, and literature reviews that have influenced the way we think about contemporary poetics, technology and storytelling.

‘How to Write About a Vanishing World’, by Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker

Like many others, I’ve spent a week in a state of grief about the recent IPCC report. I’m all over The Guardian like a traumatised fungus, trying to find nourishment in the form of answers, devouring data I don’t understand. I sense the dyspeptic effects of all those figures. Thank goodness for Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History (2014), who draws us back to the role of narrative in making sense of our vanishing world. Provocatively she opens with the familiar trope of the ‘stormy night’ and tells of ‘an American herpetologist named Marty Crump’ who, after a neighbourly tip, discovers the emergence of golden toads not far from her home in northwest Costa Rica. This is in the late eighties. These strange and beautiful creatures are part of the biospheric treasure trove whose loss Kolbert then documents across the intervening decades, up to the present. By the turn of the century, she suggests, biology had become a practice of living elegia: ‘A biologist could now choose a species to study and watch it disappear, all within the course of a few field seasons’.

Her article collects numerous other stories of scientists losing their subject — from Arctic ice to Great Barrier corals — until extinction becomes the presiding litany of our times. She notes how researchers find themselves paralysed, unsure of intended outcomes when faced with such scales of ecological loss. Even as scientific projects to assist vulnerable ecosystems gather in nuance and strength, there’s a sense that we’re already fighting a losing game. Science becomes a question of narrative transmission, as much as active intervention; by doing research, you’re sending some sort of message of hope. As Kolbert puts it, ‘Hope and its doleful twin, Hopelessness, might be thought of as the co-muses of the modern eco-narrative’, inspiring nature writers and scientists alike. The central question is ‘how we relate to that loss’: is it a question of elegy and mourning, or sparking a call to arms? Even those writers who urge us to act, who celebrate the potentials of direct intervention, admit that none of this will happen fast enough to make a lasting difference. Ending on the phrase ‘Lalalalalala, can’t hear you!’, Kolbert sardonically evokes that familiar, Trumpian stage of climate denial which has been rearing its all-too-human, deluded head of late. But what persists is the value of keeping on — ‘Narrating the disaster becomes a way to try to avert it’ (and here I am reminded of Maurice Blanchot’s writing of the disaster as a polysemous, irreducible event) — writing, as Kolbert does in this piece, our stories in the face of defeat. An earnest act in the face of inevitable cynicism, a careful digestion of failure. Maybe ecological writing just needs to be more metamodern. 

M.S.

‘Your favorite Twitter bots are about die, thanks to upcoming rule changes’, By Oscar Schwartz, Quartz

Twitter bots fans, you might want to take a seat: there could be some terrible news out there. According to Oscar Schwartz and his article on Quartz, many of our favourite sources of coded linguistic beauty might disappear in the coming months due to what he calls ‘a company-wide attempt to eradicate malicious bots from the platform.’ A couple months ago, Twitter announced that they would start requiring bot developers to undergo a thorough vetting process  in order to gain access to Twitter’s programming interface (where the essence of a Twitter bot lies) - an amount of bureaucratic load that prolific bot artists have told Schwartz would simply be too much work to keep up with.

Regardless of the bleak prediction, the think piece reads less like a eulogy for Twitter bots, and more like a defense of them. Schwartz provides us here with a real goldmine for Twitter bots to follow -  from Jia Zhang’s @censusAmericans, which composes little biographies of nameless Americans by compiling information provided to the open census database, to Allison Parrish's @the_ephemerides, which couples images of distant planets from NASA’s archive with computer-generated poetry. In a statement to Schwartz, Parrish (a poet, computer-programmer, and educator as well as a Twitter-botter) states that ‘asking permission to make a bot is like asking someone permission to do graffiti on a wall (...) It undermines everything that is interesting about bot-making.” - a point that is not only rhetorically effective, but possibly a very productive way of conceptualising Twitter-bots as an art form.

‘For these bot-makers, letting their creations die off on Twitter is an act of protest. It’s not so much directed at the new developer rules, but at the platform’s broader ideology. “For me it’s becoming clear that Twitter is driven by a kind of metrics mindset that is antithetical to quality communication,” Parrish says. “These recent changes have nothing to do with limiting violent or racist language on the platform and are all about making it more financially viable.”

[Darius] Kazemi [another prominent bot artist] agrees, adding that to continue making creative bots on Twitter is making a bargain with the devil. “We’re being asked to trade in our creative freedom for exposure to a large audience,” he says. “But I am beginning to suspect that once we all leave Twitter, they will realize that we represent a lot of what made Twitter good, and that maybe the platform needs fun bot makers more than we need Twitter.”’

D.B.

‘Erasing the signs of labour under the signs of happiness: “joy” and “fidelity” as bromides in literary translation’, by Sophie Collins, The Poetry Society

Some of our most significant intellectual epiphanies occur in lecture theatres, often in resistance to the lecture in question. Maybe this is a form of vicarious translation. In her piece, Collins begins with an anecdote about a lecture she was looking forward to leaving her cold. The speaker’s takeaway slogan, the ‘joy of translation’, rang hollow as a company ‘mission statement’. Against this platitude from the corporate happiness factory, Collins explores the affective entanglements of reading translation through various types of negativity, the disciplinary disparities around its process, intentions and attendant critical debates. Drawing upon her own experience in translating literature from the Dutch, Collins explores the value of acknowledging struggle in translation — from ‘uncertainty and self-consciousness’ to ‘breakdown and frustration’. She makes room for the translator’s own vexed identity to be critically recognised in the process, and thus asks for analytic frameworks which keep in mind the theories around hybridity posited by thinkers such as Gayatri Spivak, Homi K. Bhaba and Julia Kristeva.

Working through the negative space of translation, Collins goes on to deconstruct the concept of ‘joy’ itself, upon whose insistence various arms of society’s ideological apparatus are able to keep us in stasis and check: ‘Given that the desire for happiness can cover signs of its negation, a revolutionary politics has to work hard to stay proximate to unhappiness’. Joy becomes less a personal experience than ‘something more like obedience to a collective cause’. Translation might allow us to notice relationality and difference between cultures; but as a creative act in itself, translation also provides a discursive technology for intervention in structures of power. Often denigrated as secondary or indeed ‘women’s work’, translation occupies a precarious position in the ‘creative hierarchy’, and this is reinforced by vacuous proclamations about its joy. Whose joy are we reveering here anyway? What we need, Collins argues, is a more complex set of theories around translation, which bring into play its disruptive, ‘negative’ aspects. Her productive alternative to ‘fidelity’ or ‘faithfulness’ as the goal or logic for translation is that of ‘intimacy’: a translation process that ‘exhibits a heightened contextualisation of its source text for the reader’; one that bears with it the often fraught emotional truths around the act of moving between texts, times, cultural tones and affective states. Emotional truths whose discernment opens a space for seriously ‘affirm[ing] the possibility of change’:

As a proposed ideal for translations, ‘intimacy’ brings with it its own questions, problematics and risks. Ultimately, however, my application of the term is intended to shift the translation relationship from a place of universality, heteronormacy, authority and centralised power, towards a particularised space whose aesthetics are determined by the two or more people involved, in this way amplifying and promoting creativity and deviant aesthetics in translations between national languages. 

M.S.

‘On Translating Human Acts’ by Han Kang - By Deborah Smith in Asymptote

Han Kang plays language with the kind of near-unbearable intensity which Jacqueline du Pré applied to the cello, exploring its sensory possibilities through a continual detailing of the minutely physical—a bead of sweat trickling down the nape of a neck, the rasp of even the softest fabric against skin—which builds to such a pitch that even the slightest physical contact, no matter how intentionally tender or gently performed, is felt as violence, as violation.

As someone who works in the field, I'm always eager to read the translator's note before commencing my reading of the work. Translators' introductions, beyond outlining the context of any novel, tend to reveal the hyper-specific difficulties they faced when attempting to replicate linguistic nuances of the source language into the target language. In this case, one example given was the 'brick-thick Gwangju dialect', as Korean dialects are distinguished by grammatical differences rather than individual words. Looking to avoid 'translationese', Smith identifies that her primary concern was the effect the text had over the reader, rather than specific syntactic structures, aiming for 'a non specific colloquialism that would carry the warmth Han intended'. 

Already intrigued by Smith's introduction, and after having finished Human Acts, I continued my research of Smith, coming across much of the criticism she received by many academics for her translations of both The Vegetarian (she had been studying Korean for only three years before commencing this work) and Human Acts. In this essay, Smith takes us on a journey through the complexities and challenges she faced as a translator. One that really stuck out to me was the necessity to find as many possible synonyms for the verb 'to erase'. This word continued to resurface in the original often as a straight repetition. As Smith notes, Korean is 'far more tolerant' of this than English. I had once encountered a similar issue myself when translating a memoir based in one Rio de Janeiro's jails. The prisoners in that text frequently used the word 'parada', a local slang that can mean 'thing', 'business', 'occurrence', but is context specific. The heavy repetition of any of these options in English didn't read well, making the text clunky and awkward. Only through methodically finding specific synonyms to match with each context was I able to resolve this.

Out of all the nuances and subtleties Smith had to work through, none can be more thought-provoking than the title itself, 'Human Acts'. As Smith notes, a literal translation of the Korean would have resulted in the slightly awkward title 'The boy is coming', leaving her with the tricky task of finding a captivating title that retained the neutrality of the original. Read the full article to hear about which elements Smith had to keep in mind when deciding how to translate Kang's 'restrained Korean'.

M.P.

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IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE that Sahm Venter, the editor of The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela, did not have a crystal ball when planning the book’s publication date. Despite beginning to assemble this compilation nearly a decade ago, the letters feel eerily resonant in 2018. Mandela’s concerns about free speech, the treatment of protesters by the police, and the humanity of the incarcerated, as well as racial divisions and those who stoke them for political gain, would fit seamlessly on the pages of any leading publication today. But perhaps what feels most timely is Mandela’s struggle to reconcile the ideal — the hope — that most people are good at heart, with the horrifying realities of the day-to-day treatment he and his fellow prisoners endured.

It is a struggle many readers of this collection will relate to — though not perhaps to the extent Mandela did, having faced immense physical and psychological torture during his imprisonment. But as extreme language about race and gender becomes the norm — even among world leaders — trying to assess which direction the moral compass of our society points has become harder, and so does hanging on to hope. The greatest strength of this collection is its ability to renew hope at a time when many of us sorely need it.

The letters, addressed to a diverse list that includes family members, friends, and prison officials, are filled with illuminating insights into Mandela’s life, in and out of prison; among them his friendship with the late US Senator Paul Tsongas, his surprising note to boxer Mike Tyson (following Tyson being awarded an honorary doctorate), as well as his immense appreciation for great artists and great authors. In one letter, he requests that a bookstore send works by Upton Sinclair, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck to his children. In another to his daughter, he hails the importance of classical greats Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, alongside modern artists turned activists Paul Robeson and Miriam Makeba.

But there are also many letters that, frankly, do little to enlighten the reader on Nelson Mandela the activist, or even Nelson Mandela the person. (Just imagine if every single note you wrote in a single month, from birthday cards to letters to a cousin about family matters, were published. You’re probably cringing at the idea of how mundane some of the correspondence would seem to others. Now stretch that week into years.) But even the most mundane letters of Nelson Mandela are worth reading, if only to find your way to those that are extraordinary. The collection affirms that Mandela was not only a brilliant political tactician and legal mind, but also an exquisite writer. However, what ultimately makes this collection unforgettable is not the language he uses, but the ideals that emerge as central to his worldview and his fight for survival in circumstances that would have broken many of us.

For instance, prison reform has evolved from a fringe issue of the left to a mainstream issue embraced by conservatives and liberals alike. And yet the words “prison reform” tend to focus on foundational issues such as reforming sentencing guidelines, and transitioning from a culture that prizes punishment to one that emphasizes rehabilitation. While these are certainly worthy issues, Mandela’s letters serve as a powerful reminder that in a humane society, ensuring prisoners can maintain ties with the outside world is just as important as ensuring they are fed, clothed, and not physically abused, not only to ensure their survival in prison, but to ensure they have the tools they need to survive, thrive, and contribute to society in a meaningful way when they leave.

While Mandela writes of being deprived adequate food, clothing, shoes, water, and medical care during his imprisonment (as well as deliberate acts by officials to make prisoners ill), he devotes much more of his writing to the “psychological persecution” by prison guards and the resulting devastation. One of the most powerful weapons for psychological torture he cites is the arbitrary withholding, destroying, and excessive censoring of letters between prisoners and their friends and families. Much of this behavior was clearly not arbitrary at all, but a calculated effort to destroy the prisoners by destroying the relationships that gave them the hope they needed to keep going day after day.

“I like you to know,” Mandela wrote to his friend Peter Wellman, “that throughout the many yrs [sic] of incarceration numerous messages of good wishes & hope sent by people from different walks of life, have cut through massive iron doors & grim stone walls, bringing into the cell the splendour & warmth of springtime.” That is precisely why, throughout much of his imprisonment, his efforts to remain in contact with those who loved him were subjected to sabotage. He and other prisoners faced quotas regarding how many letters they could send and receive, and even then, the quota was affected by what kind of correspondence it was and from whom.

Despite this unimaginable obstacle, Mandela found ways to remain an engaged parent and grandparent, bringing a level of detail to his inquiries and feedback regarding his children’s studies, hobbies, and homework that would rival plenty of parents not behind bars. (His engagement was such that in one of the funniest moments in the collection, he addresses his granddaughter’s request for a leather jacket for her 13th birthday. A request that makes it clear that to her, Mandela was not an incarcerated political icon, but merely a doting grandpa.) Though he blames himself, or, more specifically, his incarceration, for some of his children’s missteps, such as when one abandoned his studies, Mandela’s dedication to remaining a present parent emerges as one of the most inspiring and thought-provoking revelations from this book.

While obviously the circumstances are not entirely parallel, the incarceration rates of black men in the United States have proven to be one of the most destructive forces within the black American community, with a particularly debilitating impact on generations of children who have ended up virtually fatherless. But Mandela’s decades of correspondence with his children prove that incarceration does not have to mean that a father must sacrifice a meaningful relationship with his child. It does mean, however, that doing so requires at least two core ingredients — the first being an unquenchable desire by the father to parent (regardless of the obstacles in his way), and the second being a willingness of those outside of prison walls to make maintaining relationships between the imprisoned and their children a priority, something that gets very little attention from any of us who live in societies that prioritize punishment over rehabilitation. In most circumstances, at least one of those individuals needs to be a family member.

Which brings me to Nelson Mandela’s letters to his then-wife, Winnie Mandela, of which there are many. These letters are so lyrically written, spiritually affirming, and intellectually engaging that they cast a large shadow over the rest of the collection. They (along with one specific letter to prison officials I will get to in a moment) are the heart of the collection, and I can’t help but wonder if readers would have been better served had they been published as a separate collection altogether. Every time I read one, I was reminded of the caption the BBC posted to accompany an image from the recent royal wedding between the newly minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which read, “Find someone who looks at you the way Harry looks at Meghan.” I think anyone who reads this book will long for someone who writes to them and about them the way Nelson Mandela writes of Winnie Mandela.

In a 1970 letter to her, he describes a vivid dream he’d just had of her doing a Hawaiian dance and notes the joy just thinking of her brings him in such terrible circumstances. Describing “the enchanting smile that I miss so desperately,” he concludes the letter with, “the dream was for me a glorious moment. If I must dream in my sleep, please Hawaii for me. I like to see you merry and full of life.” As the government ramped up its harassment of his family (the Mandela home was broken into more than once and Winnie Mandela was both imprisoned and assaulted) his letters to her become an impressive mix of love, protectiveness, and encouragement, occasionally expressed in a voice resembling a general who clearly believes his best soldier is tougher and more talented than he is, and must lead the troops to victory in his absence.

His letters to her also provide a fascinating window into Mandela’s own evolution politically and personally. A 1979 letter in which he shares his thoughts on various women leaders, during what he dubs “the year of the woman,” sheds light on the transformative sexual politics of the time. Not all of the letters between the couple are brimming with romance and positivity. Some of them provide a heartbreaking window into the toll long separation and political victimization can take on a marriage. In one letter, he alludes to the discord prison officials are clearly trying to sow between the two of them. (They would apparently leave unflattering articles about Winnie for him to see, while simultaneously withholding her correspondence from him at times, and his correspondence from her at others.) Which brings me to what is perhaps the most powerful letter in the book.

In 1976, he wrote to the commissioner of prisons about the inhumane conditions in the prison, citing as one of the key issues efforts to undermine correspondence between family members. He notes that what the commanding officer of the prison is trying to do is

not only to cut us off from the powerful current of goodwill and support that has ceaselessly flown in during the 14 years of my incarceration in the form of visits, letters, cards and telegrams, but also to discredit us to our family and friends by presenting us to them as irresponsible people who neither acknowledge letters written to them nor deal with important matters referred to us by our correspondents.

He also goes on to outline other forms of physical, psychological, and sexual torture prisoners have been subjected to before noting in the conclusion of his letter that “[i]t is futile to think that any form of persecution will ever change our views.”

This letter is just as powerful as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s oft-cited Letter from Birmingham Jail. In fact, Mandela’s letter reads like a blueprint for human rights scholarship, and advocacy, and at over 20 pages long carries enough intellectual heft to stand on its own for publication, like King’s aforementioned letter. Part of me wishes it were published separately, to potentially reach more people, instead of being buried in a larger collection that may end up consumed purely by Mandela superfans. More than any other, this letter captures Mandela’s political philosophy and consciousness. While condemning and conveying indignation toward those who have engaged in horrific abuse, he never wavers in the way he expresses himself — always maintaining a voice of dignity, kindness, and courtesy, even in the face of unspeakable cruelty.

In a separate letter to prison officials confronting them for violating his right to privileged communications with his attorneys, he actually laments that such behavior “make[s] it difficult for us to accord to such officials the respect and courtesy we should like to give to those who are entrusted with our welfare as prisoners.” He describes a prison official, who stands against everything Mandela stands for politically, as someone he “respected” in his role, and who never gave Mandela reason to question his “integrity.” It is hard to fathom what it must have taken for him to consistently try to convey courtesy to those who had done everything in their power to break him physically and spiritually, and yet as the book progresses we see moments where his efforts made a clear difference. In one letter, Mandela pleads to be allowed to contact his daughter to help her with problems related to her studies — not normally the kind of life-or-death matter that would warrant a special review by prison officials. Yet written on the letter by the guard is a recommendation that they honor the request, an unlikely outcome had Mandela not exuded the kind of grace he did for so much of his tenure behind bars.

As I finished writing this review, debates raged regarding the appropriateness of the language choices of comedian Samantha Bee and other critics of President Trump. But after reading The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela, I had more pressing questions about their effectiveness. Mandela’s letters make clear that while he believed in employing aggressive political tactics when necessary (if someone pulls a gun on you, kind words won’t do much to protect you), he also believed you can’t win an argument by simply yelling louder than the other guy. Or using more obscene language. After all, there’s a reason the term “kill them with kindness” exists, as opposed to “kill them with cruelty.”

It’s worth noting that Mandela encouraged a family member to read the late minister Norman Vincent Peale’s best-selling tome, The Power of Positive Thinking. The book has remained culturally relevant for decades because one constant of the human experience is the search for happiness. Mandela’s book emerges as an unexpected companion piece to Peale’s, illustrating one individual’s ability for coping with, and overcoming, adversity.

Ironically, just before the publication of Mandela’s collection, one of Peale’s ideological and spiritual heirs, Dr. Michael B. Brown, published the book Love Is the Way. Reading Brown’s book and Mandela’s so close together I found a surprisingly natural through line that felt particularly resonant given our current social and political landscape. Anger, cruelty, and obscenity may seem to win in the moment, but in the words of the late Dr. King, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It also eventually bends toward humanity’s greatest strengths, like love and kindness, instead of its most destructive qualities. Mandela got to be president. The guards who tortured him did not.

In a letter to a prison official following the censoring of a letter from his beloved Winnie, Mandela writes, “Only a person armed with love for his fellow human beings, who cares about others, will succeed where force and power will be applied in vain.” Mandela’s love for his family, his country, and equality shine through in this collection. But it is his commitment to finding the light in the darkest of circumstances and the dark walls of a prison cell that carries this book.

¤

Keli Goff is a columnist for The Daily Beast, contributor to NPR affiliate KCRW’s Left, Right & Center, and a writer for the television series Black Lightning.

The post A Hope Manifesto for Times of Resistance appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

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And Still I Rise

“And Still I Rise” authored by Maya Angelou is an epic highlighting the challenges of women in the contemporary society. Maya illustrates confessional experiences encompassing male chauvinism and gender typecasting that limits opportunities for women. Thus, she expresses the notion that anything that comes from the heart enters the heart. What she went through during her life at an early age and all the obstacles and challenges made her tough and a strong woman. Besides, the poem evidences the kind of racism treatment she underwent with her people. Therefore, Angelou writes with much anger that evidences when reading the poem. The concept also echoes her feelings while writing the poem to make it such meaningful and heart touching. After such a hard life since childhood, she decided to write a poem detailing her past and the aspirations to gain prominence of promoting women independence.

The content of the poem raises the desire to understand the background and past experiences that inspired Angelou. Therefore, Maya Angelou is the name of the author. She was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father split up when she was young, and they moved with the brother to Arkansas to live with their father’s mother. Maya Angelou went through a series of occupations and jobs before becoming a prominent poet and a writer to support her life and the son whom she bore at the age of 16 years. The past works illustrate that she had an enormous role in society including an American author, Actress, Producer, Dancer, director, singer, poet, and civil rights activists. In her legacy, Angelou published many books of essays and poetries that got accreditation and used in plays, movies, and TV shows for 50 years. Her career beginnings started at off-Broadway production in the mid-1980s. She later became an affiliate of the Harlem writers’ guild and a civil rights activist. Moreover, she lived in Egypt and Ghana at the University of Ghana as an editor and freelance writer for approximately ten years before returning to the America where she embarked on the writing profession by following the steps of the novelist James Baldwin. The success she gained after writing her best known autobiographic book titled “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)” that got nominated for the national book award and the best-seller non-fiction book written by an African-American author. In 1995, she was lauded for remaining in the New York Times newspaper nonfiction bestseller books for two years marking the lengthiest highest in chart history. Angelou started facing health issues before she passed away for some years. May died in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on date 28 of May 2014.  

A literal interpretation of the poem “And Still I Rise” characterizes the classical use of symbolism, diction, metaphorical tale, structure, synecdoche, parallelism, and figurative tone to communicate the negligence, inconsiderateness, and coldness of the society to the rights of the African Americans and women. In this poem, Angelou confessed her experiences to enhance empathy, awareness and provide solace to other women or victims of racial discrimination that encounter indescribable obstacles when tracking life ambitions.

The poem exemplifies significant observance of structure and diction to communicate the importance of endurance and affirmation. Thus, Angelou acmes hardships, for example, the phrase “You may write me down in history” that offers a strong introduction elaboration of the events that follow. In this context, she sensibly uses structure and diction to enhance the visualization of the challenges and create a commonsensical appeal. In addition, the diction in the poem entails non-specification of the perpetrators of the suffrages despite their existence. Hence, she progresses a mysterious atmosphere for upholding the rights of every human being despite the background, social class or gender. In is also evident that the diction and structure in the stanzas identify and explain the twin forces that Angelou experienced. First, she explicitly addresses the racial profiling in the American society. Secondly, she points out the gender stereotype and rejection that hindered the development of women in the society.

Symbolism is another feature of the poem that enriches its meaning and understanding. First, the personal experiences that Angelou writes symbolize the slavery and oppression of the African Americans. The mention of the “sexiness” or “diamonds” symbolizes the richness of the African Heritage. It also symbolizes the special abilities of the women that the society usually ignores. Likewise, the “dust” symbolizes the perseverance to attain the desired mission in life. Thus, Angelou successfully speaks about the historical and current injustices that limit the development including access to education and employment opportunities. The poem title “And I Still Rise” also presents an allegorical tale of the relentlessness of activists and women to establish appropriate structures for governance and social equity. Therefore, the poem Angelou creates a sound position that also encompasses activism and teachings of a fair society.

In addition, the poem encompasses the aspects of parallelism to emphasize the overriding concepts. The parallelism in this context include the powerful words, for instance, “I rise”. The approach harmonizes the author and readers expectations of a just society and improves the understanding of the realities of life. Furthermore, it combines with the title and metaphorical tales to provide a comprehensive illustration of the injustices of the society towards the females and persons who share divergent views. Even though the poem gives the life experiences of Maya Angelou, it also echoes the challenges that women have in the global community including developing nations. Thus, it is a classical representation of the prejudices of the society.

Furthermore, Angelou incorporated fanciful tales and imagery to converse the whole theme of inequality. The imagery in this poem entails phrase like the “shoots me with your words”. The particular phrase communicates the power of words in that it can encourage or demoralize an individual. Thus, she progresses the importance of speaking well of others and cooperation to achieve the life goals. In every stanza, the figurative language enriches the meaning and persuades the audience to work collectively towards eliminating social biases. The mentioning of the disturbing experiences combined with the past tribulations extensively enables the society to have an exact feeling of their injustices. Therefore, the poem provides complicated and idealistic issues that system of governance, outdated social institutions, and undemocratic systems progress. It does this in an appealing manner that captures the attention of everyone including males, youths, adults, women, or policy makers.

Feasibly, Angelou’s poem exemplifies a classic writing that takes into consideration the significant styles of imagery, symbolism, and structure to stamp the message. The styles make the poem appealing and offer a comparative approach to social problems that women experience. Therefore, the subsequent logical and ethical appeal influences the readers and audience to develop empathy and collaborate to minimize women suffrages.

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Meet ‘them’: Conde Nast’s First Queer Publication

http://fashion-trendin.com/meet-them-conde-nasts-first-queer-publication/

Meet ‘them’: Conde Nast’s First Queer Publication

In June 2017, award-winning trans journalist Meredith Talusan received a direct message on Instagram from Phillip Picardi. The digital editorial director of Teen Vogue and Allure was in the process of building an intersectional staff for what would eventually become them, Conde Nast’s newest online publication that focuses on queer youth. He was looking for an editor; their mutual friend Janet Mock had recommended Talusan.

At the time, however, she was working on a book. She considered herself a writer first and foremost and wasn’t prepared to take on an editorial role.

“There are so few trans editors,” Talusan tells me over the phone. “Of those who are, many of the established ones don’t edit or work on trans issues. I have to do all of this cultural translation and justification in order to get pitches approved,” she says. “It requires a lot of logistical and emotional labor to get someone who is not up to speed about the issues you’re dealing with… Part of the reason I waffled was because I was intimidated to yet again be the only trans person on an editorial staff.”

A few months later, Picardi reached out to Talusan to ask for recommendations to fill the same editorial role — only this time, Talusan had changed her mind. She was interested. They had a call that led to a job offer followed by an in-person meeting. As she reviewed the offer, Picardi hired them Associate Editor Tyler Ford, a friend and writer she admires, who also happens to be trans. When Talusan realized she wouldn’t be the only person on staff to speak to trans issues, she signed on as them’s full-time senior editor.

Them was born from an idea Picardi had been dreaming about for a while: launching a queer publication that speaks to those who don’t look at sexuality and gender in binary terms, like so many of the young queer people he met through Teen Vogue. “I wanted to identify this space and create one that was more welcoming, inclusive and representative of this new queer movement happening.”

His dream became reality when Condé Nast’s artistic director Anna Wintour asked him at a luncheon, more or less, “If you could do anything you wanted, what would you do?” He explained his vision. A few days later, his phone rang. She gave him the green light to begin a proposal, which involved months of work and pitching to Conde Nast’s entire C-suite. In October 2017, along with Talusan, Ford, and a diverse collection of freelance contributors, them officially launched.

Picardi believes the most important decision he’s made in staffing up them is handing over the microphone: “It’s not about me. Gay men take up a lot of space in our community and dominate the space queer and trans people get in terms of representation.” He tells me that after eight years in media, there’s not just one person responsible for the magic a brand makes. “To make beautiful, magical, shareable content — to make the world a better place and make visibility and representation a priority — it takes a whole team.”

The team’s goal is twofold, he says: The first part is to create content for and by the queer community and to be a representative of all parts of the community “in the best way we can.” The second is to prove, by being a queer brand within a traditional magazine publishing house like Condé Nast, that you can “queer” mainstream. “That’s ‘queer’ as a verb,” he tells me. “At them, we want to educate people about who we are and why we exist.”

In the name of handing over microphones, I pass mine to the full-time and contributing staff of them.

I asked each person to write a one-line personal bio, one line that explains what they “do” professionally, and then, in 300 words or less, to tell me their story.

Meredith Talusan, “Old enough to write a memoir,” senior editor, them

I am a lot sillier than I look. I’m unable to keep my mouth shut and so, as a result, am the senior editor of them.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

I am a first-generation Filipino, albino, immigrant, nonbinary, trans person who is a successful journalist and editor and is a little bit too educated, with multiple advanced degrees — more than one degree from Ivy League schools — and I’m out to show that coming from a marginalized background and being successful in media don’t have to be mutually exclusive. A lot of people view “external success” as belonging; I want to express we all hold multitudes, and that one can simultaneously hold a disadvantaged background along certain lines and at the same time achieve a measure of success and have privilege and advantages. America tends to be set up such that we view people as either one or the other.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

My advice to teenagers: Wear your hair the way you want to and think about the consequences later.

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

I hope that readers will find both joy and activism and understand that those two things can be one and the same.

You can follow Meredith on Instagram here or Twitter here.

Phillip Picardi, 26, chief content officer, them

I think that Burlesque starring Christina Aguilera and Cher is a criminally underrated film. I started an idea, which became them, and now sometimes help other people as they make it better and more inclusive.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

When I started at Teen Vogue, I wore bronzer and had a blowout. Things got better, and now I have them.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

Young people: Whatever they mock you for now is exactly what you should be doing with the rest of your life.

You can follow Phillip on Instagram here and Twitter here.

Tyler Ford, 27, associate editor, them

I am a compassionate, bold, sensitive, punctilious person who loves to learn. I am a gender writer, speaker and advocate, and I am the associate editor at them.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

I love being queer and trans and black. I try to communicate how happy I am to be who I am as often as possible, because people expect me to be sad about it. I’m not sad about who I am — I’m sad and angry at the violence that queer and trans people of color experience on a daily basis just for existing. So, let me say it again: There is so much joy in being queer and trans and black. We all deserve to celebrate who we are.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

My advice to everyone: Take care of each other and take care of yourself.

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

I hope that them will inspire a sense of recognition, affirmation, connection and community in our readers.

You can follow Tyler on Instagram here, Twitter here or check out his website here.

Michael Cuby, 23, them contributor

An L.A.-born New York transplant, I am a writer and editor. I’m the community manager/social director at them.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

I was born in Los Angeles and moved to New York five years ago to start studying sociology at Columbia University. While I was in school, I wrote for VICE, Teen Vogue, Flavorwire and MEL Magazine. Prior to joining the them team, I worked as a digital editor at PAPER Magazine, where I took the lead on most of the site’s fashion coverage. I’ve also always been pretty active on (or, addicted to) social media, so it was exciting to start my new position at them. I feel totally fulfilled in a way I hadn’t before because I can merge my passion for writing with my addiction to social media. Plus, I get to stick my hand in so many other things.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

My advice to my younger self is to not give up on the pursuit of what you really want to do with your life. Growing up, I was really into reading men’s lifestyle magazines and thought I would pursue that as a career. But after coming into my own as a queer person in college, I found myself gradually canceling my subscriptions because I felt alienated by their often very narrow definitions of manhood. I couldn’t see where I fit in that world.

When I could finally start believably calling myself a “writer” at other publications, I ran into another wall: I always wanted to write about specific topics like queerness, Blackness, etc. but feared pigeonholing myself. With so few avenues for queer people to place their queerness (or any other marginalized identity) at the center of their work, it was intimidating to me to risk becoming that person who “only writes about insert topic here.” But now, with a platform like them, I see that it wasn’t a “risk” at all. It’s so inspiring to the little boy who once found himself fearing that there wouldn’t be a place for him in the Wild World of Media.

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

One of the central tenets of them is to provide a voice for those who may not otherwise have the opportunity to tell their story and be heard in mainstream media. Obviously, as an LGBTQ+ publication, we’re already doing that semi-automatically by focusing on the queer community — but we also want to be sure that our selection of LGBTQ+ stories are diverse in and of themselves. That means letting queer and trans people of color have a voice, queer and trans people with disabilities have a voice, etc. I think all of these perspectives have sometimes been either completely ignored or strategically overshadowed in other queer publications. It is my hope that people who read our site feel something from these important stories, and that these stories ultimately will help change their worldviews for the better. In my opinion, the more people who know about others who are different than them, the more possibilities there are for two-way passages of compassion and empathy. And as for the non-readers? Well, I want them to start reading!

You can follow Michael on Instagram here and Twitter here.

Chella Man, 18, them contributor

I am a deaf, queer, nonbinary artist based in New York City currently transitioning on testosterone. I contribute project ideas and pitches to them that deal with topics ranging from being deaf to being queer.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

When I was three years old, I was in the car with my mom, driving down the highway. From my car seat, I called out, “Mom, I want to be a boy!” My mom was astonished and answered: “Well, girls can do anything boys can do, so why?” I responded: “They can’t run around with their shirts off, and they have a penis!” I was three years old, and I knew who I was.

After skipping my senior year of high school in central Pennsylvania and coming to New York City for college, my identity became more clear. The cultural shift was drastic to me; the city felt much more accepting.

I have now been on testosterone for almost five months, identify as a genderqueer individual, and am “patiently” waiting to have top surgery in January 2018. I can honestly say that I have never been happier.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

My advice to anyone out there struggling with depression this winter:

I’ve found working out in the morning to truly help my dysphoria/depression the rest of the day. It’s a muffler. If any of you are struggling mentally, try moving around a bit in the morning! I know this can be the hardest thing, but start small and work up to it, whether that’s a run or lifting. It helps me immensely. The morning sunrise views aren’t that bad, either.

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

I hope readers will be able to see a bit of themselves in this platform. I hope they will be able to figure out who they are a bit better than I did. I did not have this kind of media representation.

Anything else you want to add?

I am proud to be a part of them. The future is brighter with this queer platform.

You can follow Chella on Instagram here and here.

Myles Loftin, 19, them contributor

I’m just a black boy trying to express myself and understand the world. I’m a freelance photographer (for them and others) and a sophomore at Parsons School of Design.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

I grew up in southern Maryland with two parents who have always been extremely supportive of my artistic talents and aspirations as an artist. I’ve been interested in art since I can remember, and from a young age I knew that I wanted to pursue art as a career. While other kids wanted to be doctors and policemen when they grew up, I just wanted to make art and make a living off of that. When I was about 15 or 16 years old, I picked up a camera and never really turned back. I had found my element. Photography is my way of understanding and reinterpreting myself and the world around me. Art is a practice of freedom and liberation for me. I want other minority artists to be able to experience that, and to be able to feel like they have a place in the art world where they can be as talented and as successful as cis, straight, white artists. I want my existence and my success as an “other” to inspire queer kids of color who want to share their voice.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

My advice to marginalized artists trying to make it would be to always keep working, keep building off of what you’ve already created, and never compare your rate of success to someone else’s. Everyone gets to where they’re going at their own pace, and if you stay true to what you’re doing, you’ll make it happen.

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

I hope that readers and non-readers will appreciate, understand and potentially connect with the nuanced representations of LGBTQIAGNC+ culture.

You can follow Miles on Instagram here and Twitter here.

Quil Lemons, 20, them contributor

I’m a 20-year-old art student, photographer, writer, part-time lemon and full-time friend. I am just a person who tells it like it is; that ideology is reflected in the art I create for them and for myself.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

I am an artist. Personally, I am still figuring out my story, as many millennials are. If you are a fan/supporter of what I have to offer, may it be my photography, writing or social media presence, you will see that this “story” is still being written. I am a 20-year-old black boy from Philadelphia and I am finally feeling grounded in who I am (as a person and creator) and what that means in the spaces that I occupy.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

My advice to queer youth: I feel we’re in an interesting time in society where the norms are being rewritten, which has given a lot of space to define what is acceptable. You no longer have to feel afraid to be who you are. You do not have to hide your interests or who you want to be. We are in a time in which we have more freedoms than ever before. We have the ability to continue to keep changing the views of those who do not agree with “our lifestyle.” But, most importantly, I hope anyone who’s young and queer does not feel alone, different or weird. Being queer and being “one of them” is wonderful!

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

I hope readers take away new perspectives, feel at home and that they are rightfully represented. I hope that them is a platform that truly depicts where the LGBTQ community is in 2017 and where we are going. I hope the readers of them can connect with the art I put out through this platform and it resonates. I hope anything I create can help someone feel at peace.

I hope non-readers can appreciate the art we make and feel inspired or can see our perspective and gain insight on what it actually means to be queer.

You can follow Quil on Instagram here and Twitter here.

Wesley Johnson, 25, them contributor

Just trying to maintain a social life, support my local businesses, drink enough water and pay off my student loans. I make sure everything looks good and on-brand at them. It’s a really dynamic role because one day I might commission illustrators for a story, and the next I might be on set for a fashion shoot. I’m really fortunate that I can trust my eye, and that’s one thing I’m really confident about.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

I moved to New York to study graphic design at Parsons. I’ve been artistic all my life, but I was unsure of what I wanted to do or how I wanted to apply my talent. I knew I loved things like fashion magazines, packaging, music videos, window displays, anything visual. I settled on graphic design because I thought it’d be the best way to funnel all of my interests into one field (and maybe make some money).

Even if Parsons wasn’t the best choice for me, New York totally was. Being a closeted gay kid growing up in the suburbs, New York was a complete awakening for me. Being surrounded by so many gay people was like nothing I’d ever felt before. I haven’t traveled much, but I can’t picture living in any other city. There are so many lives you could lead here, and the possibilities are endless. There are layers to life that we don’t even see, and your environment can totally shift by just walking a few blocks. I had one of the best years of my life exploring everything around the city too, like Fire Island, Storm King, the Glass House.

In my down time, I love walking around my neighborhood and looking at houses, going to the farmers’ market, shopping for my apartment, going to galleries and museums. I try to stay visually stimulated to keep myself inspired. I also love being inside and sitting.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

I think young people should know that there’s no threshold into adulthood; you’re always evolving. Even now, it’s hard to say 100% what I want to “be” when I grow up. Of course I dream of renovating a Brooklyn brownstone with my dream man, but coming to terms with the fact that that might never happen is hard. As a Pisces, I’ve always been a dreamer, so realizing that not everything can come true is hard. I would also say to not get bent out of shape over not going to school with everyone else. Take your time to really discover yourself if you’re not there yet. Looking back, I wish I’d taken some time off to travel. Seriously, if you’re fortunate enough to be living on your parents’ dime, take advantage of it for as long as you can! I’m learning that changing course later in life, even as early in my career as I am, is difficult. It may take a while to find out what your true interests are. Just roll with it and keep your mind open.

You may surprise yourself.

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

I think people should know that queer people are so limitless. Our creativity really knows no bounds. Continually being pushed to the periphery of society has made us really adaptive, and forced us to make ourselves seen in different ways. Also, because we’re not the norm, we don’t really have norms. I think that allows our minds to stay open. I’m so proud to be a part of this group, and I think the future is really in our hands.

You can follow Wesley on Instagram here.

James Clarizio, 26, Visuals Editor, them

I’m a disproportionate gasper-meets-diplomatic-menu-orderer-meets-above-average-parallel-parker. I manage everything that goes into making pictures at them – except taking them.

What’s your “story”? What do you need the world to know about you?

I’ve had an affinity for images for as long as I can remember, from aged photographs of my parents honeymooning to Bruce Weber’s catalogs for Abercrombie & Fitch I’d steal from my older sisters. I’ve also had a knack for pleasing people and avoiding conflict – which, as a closeted teenager in suburban New Jersey – only further-developed my status as an observer before participator. Taking this into consideration, I really enjoy and have developed an instinctual need to look at pictures, people, relationships and stories.

My interest in looking brought me to New York University to study photography, where I was pleased to be among a small group of people who enjoyed talking about images as much as I did. New York is a special place for anyone with a keen interest in anything, especially those who require an ever-changing bank of people and experiences to digest. Apologies if I’ve stared at you on the J train.

I’m humbled and elated by the work I get to create every day, and even more so by the people that I get to share the process with. Creating content that a younger version of myself would have loved and coveted keeps me going, but not as much as knowing there are people seeing these pictures and reading these stories today.

What do you hope readers will take away from them?

I hope readers leave with both a sense of kinship in seeing their story told, as well as an enthusiasm for stories that don’t necessarily align with their own. There’s a camaraderie in queerness that we are celebrating, and the party is only growing.

What’s your advice to ____? Fill in that blank, and then fill in your advice.

My advice to people who need to wake up early in the morning is to drink a lot of water right before bed. Like, more than you think. Once your alarm sounds, you’ll need to use the restroom too urgently to stay put. Many of the best things in life require skipping the snooze button.

Also, making a conscious effort to be present and pleasant will get you halfway there.

You can follow James on Instagram here.

Photos provided by them staff and contributors. Myles Loftin’s photo by Jason Rodgers. Tyler Ford’s photo by Jody Rogac for TIME. 

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[leoprizeorg]

Analysis Marketing Explained And Tips On How To Optimize This Tool (2 ).

. Post Marketing Explained And Tips On How To Optimize This Tool.

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[nancygduarteus]

How to Die

One morning in May, the existential psychotherapist Irvin Yalom was recuperating in a sunny room on the first floor of a Palo Alto convalescent hospital. He was dressed in white pants and a green sweater, not a hospital gown, and was quick to point out that he is not normally confined to a medical facility. “I don’t want [this article] to scare my patients,” he said, laughing. Until a knee surgery the previous month, he had been seeing two or three patients a day, some at his office in San Francisco and others in Palo Alto, where he lives. Following the procedure, however, he felt dizzy and had difficulty concentrating. “They think it’s a brain issue, but they don’t know exactly what it is,” he told me in a soft, gravelly voice. He was nonetheless hopeful that he would soon head home; he would be turning 86 in June and was looking forward to the release of his memoir, Becoming Myself, in October.

Issues of The Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times Book Review sat on the bed, alongside an iPad. Yalom had been spending his stay watching Woody Allen movies and reading novels by the Canadian writer Robertson Davies. For someone who helped introduce to American psychological circles the idea that a person’s conflicts can result from unresolvable dilemmas of human existence, among them the dread of dying, he spoke easily about his own mortality.

“I haven’t been overwhelmed by fear,” he said of his unfolding health scare. Another of Yalom’s signature ideas, expressed in books such as Staring at the Sun and Creatures of a Day, is that we can lessen our fear of dying by living a regret-free life, meditating on our effect on subsequent generations, and confiding in loved ones about our death anxiety. When I asked whether his lifelong preoccupation with death eases the prospect that he might pass away soon, he replied, “I think it probably makes things easier.”

The hope that our existential fears can be diminished inspires people around the world to email Yalom daily. In a Gmail folder labeled “Fans,” he had saved 4,197 messages from admirers in places ranging from Iran to Croatia to South Korea, which he invited me to look at. Some were simply thank-you notes, expressions of gratitude for the insights delivered by his books. In addition to textbooks and other works of nonfiction, he has written several novels and story collections. Some, such as Love’s Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy and When Nietzsche Wept, have been best sellers.

As I scrolled through the emails, Yalom used his cane to tap a button that alerted the nurses’ station. A voice came through the intercom, and he explained that he needed some ice for his knee. It was the third time he’d called; he told me his pain was making it difficult to concentrate on anything else, though he was trying. Throughout his stay, his wife of more than 60 years, Marilyn, had been stopping by regularly to refresh his reading material. The day before, he’d had a visit from Georgia May, the widow of the existential psychotherapist Rollo May, who was a colleague and friend of Yalom’s. When he runs out of other things to do, he plays on his iPad or his computer, using them with the dexterity of someone half his age.

Many of Yalom’s fan letters are searing meditations on death. Some correspondents hope he will offer relief from deep-seated problems. Most of the time he suggests that they find a local therapist, but if one isn’t available and the issue seems solvable in a swift period—at this point in his career, he won’t work with patients for longer than a year—he may take someone on remotely. He is currently working with people in Turkey, South Africa, and Australia via the internet. Obvious cultural distinctions aside, he says his foreign patients are not that different from the patients he treats in person. “If we live a life full of regret, full of things we haven’t done, if we’ve lived an unfulfilled life,” he says, “when death comes along, it’s a lot worse. I think it’s true for all of us.”

Becoming Myself is clearly the memoir of a psychiatrist. “I awake from my dream at 3 a.m., weeping into my pillow,” reads the opening line. Yalom’s nightmare involves a childhood incident in which he insulted a girl. Much of the book is about the influence that his youth—particularly his relationship with his mother—has had on his life. He writes, quoting Charles Dickens, “For, as I draw closer and closer to the end, I travel in the circle, nearer and nearer to the beginning.”

Yalom first gained fame among psychotherapists for The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy. The book, published in 1970, argues that the dynamic in group therapy is a microcosm of everyday life, and that addressing relationships within a therapy group could have profound therapeutic benefits outside of it. “I’ll do the sixth revision next year,” he told me, as nurses came in and out of the room. He was sitting in a chair by the window, fidgeting. Without his signature panama hat, his sideburns, which skate away from his ears, looked especially long.

Although he gave up teaching years ago, Yalom says that until he is no longer capable, he’ll continue seeing patients in the cottage in his backyard. It is a shrink’s version of a man cave, lined with books by Friedrich Nietzsche and the Stoic philosophers. The garden outside features Japanese bonsai trees; deer, rabbits, and foxes make occasional appearances nearby. “When I feel restless, I step outside and putter over the bonsai, pruning, watering, and admiring their graceful shapes,” he writes in Becoming Myself.

Yalom sees each problem encountered in therapy as something of a puzzle, one he and his patient must work together to solve. He described this dynamic in Love’s Executioner, which consists of 10 stories of patients undergoing therapy—true tales from Yalom’s work, with names changed but few other details altered. The stories concentrate not only on Yalom’s suffering patients but also on his own feelings and thoughts as a therapist. “I wanted to rehumanize therapy, to show the therapist as a real person,” he told me.

That might not sound like the stuff of potboilers, but the book, which came out in 1989, was a commercial hit, and continues to sell briskly today. In 2003, the critic Laura Miller credited it with inaugurating a new genre. Love’s Executioner, she wrote in The New York Times, had shown “that the psychological case study could give readers what the short fiction of the time increasingly refused to deliver: the pursuit of secrets, intrigue, big emotions, plot.”

Today, the people around the world who email Yalom know him mostly from his writing, which has been translated into dozens of languages. Like David Hasselhoff, he may well be more of a star outside the United States than at home. This likely reflects American readers’ religiosity and insistence on happy endings. Mondays with Yalom are not Tuesdays With Morrie. Yalom can be morbid, and he doesn’t believe in an afterlife; he says his anxiety about death is soothed somewhat by the belief that what follows life will be the same as what preceded it. Not surprisingly, he told me, highly religious readers don’t tend to gravitate toward his books.

Yalom is candid, both in his memoir and in person, about the difficulties of aging. When two of his close friends died recently, he realized that his cherished memory of their friendship is all that remains. “It dawned on me that that reality doesn’t exist anymore,” he said sadly. “When I die, it will be gone.” The thought of leaving Marilyn behind is agonizing. But he also dreads further physical deterioration. He now uses a walker with tennis balls on the bottoms of the legs, and he has recently lost weight. He coughed frequently during our meeting; when I emailed him a month later, he was feeling better, but said of his health scare, “I consider those few weeks as among the very worst of my life.” He can no longer play tennis or go scuba diving, and he fears he might have to stop bicycling. “Getting old,” he writes in ​Becoming Myself, “is giving up one damn thing after another.”

In his books, Yalom emphasizes that love can reduce death anxiety, both by providing a space for people to share their fears and by contributing to a well-lived life. Marilyn, an accomplished feminist literary scholar with whom he has a close intellectual partnership, inspires him to keep living every bit as much as she makes the idea of dying excruciating. “My wife matches me book for book,” he told me at one point. But although Yalom’s email account has a folder titled “Ideas for Writing,” he said he may finally be out of book ideas. Meanwhile, Marilyn told me that she had recently helped someone write an obituary for Irvin. “This is the reality of where we are in life,” she said.

Early in Yalom’s existential-psychotherapy practice, he was struck by how much comfort people derived from exploring their existential fears. “Dying,” he wrote in Staring at the Sun, “is lonely, the loneliest event of life.” Yet empathy and connectedness can go a long way toward reducing our anxieties about mortality. When, in the 1970s, Yalom began working with patients diagnosed with untreatable cancer, he found they were sometimes heartened by the idea that, by dying with dignity, they could be an example to others.

Death terror can occur in anyone at any time, and can have life-changing effects, both negative and positive. “Even for those with a deeply ingrained block against openness—those who have always avoided deep friendships—the idea of death may be an awakening experience, catalyzing an enormous shift in their desire for intimacy,” Yalom has written. Those who haven’t yet lived the life they wanted to can still shift their priorities late in life. “The same thing was true with Ebenezer Scrooge,” he told me, as a nurse brought him three pills.

For all the morbidity of existential psychotherapy, it is deeply life-affirming. Change is always possible. Intimacy can be freeing. Existence is precious. “I hate the idea of leaving this world, this wonderful life,” Yalom said, praising a metaphor devised by the scientist Richard Dawkins to illustrate the fleeting nature of existence. Imagine that the present moment is a spotlight moving its way across a ruler that shows the billions of years the universe has been around. Everything to the left of the area lit by the spotlight is over; to the right is the uncertain future. The chances of us being in the spotlight at this particular moment—of being alive—are minuscule. And yet here we are.

Yalom’s apprehension about death is allayed by his sense that he has lived well. “As I look back at my life, I have been an overachiever, and I have few regrets,” he said quietly. Still, he continued, people have “an inbuilt impulse to want to survive, to live.” He paused. “I hate to see life go.”

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/how-to-die/537906/?utm_source=feed

[ionecoffman]

How to Die

One morning in May, the existential psychotherapist Irvin Yalom was recuperating in a sunny room on the first floor of a Palo Alto convalescent hospital. He was dressed in white pants and a green sweater, not a hospital gown, and was quick to point out that he is not normally confined to a medical facility. “I don’t want [this article] to scare my patients,” he said, laughing. Until a knee surgery the previous month, he had been seeing two or three patients a day, some at his office in San Francisco and others in Palo Alto, where he lives. Following the procedure, however, he felt dizzy and had difficulty concentrating. “They think it’s a brain issue, but they don’t know exactly what it is,” he told me in a soft, gravelly voice. He was nonetheless hopeful that he would soon head home; he would be turning 86 in June and was looking forward to the release of his memoir, Becoming Myself, in October.

Issues of The Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times Book Review sat on the bed, alongside an iPad. Yalom had been spending his stay watching Woody Allen movies and reading novels by the Canadian writer Robertson Davies. For someone who helped introduce to American psychological circles the idea that a person’s conflicts can result from unresolvable dilemmas of human existence, among them the dread of dying, he spoke easily about his own mortality.

“I haven’t been overwhelmed by fear,” he said of his unfolding health scare. Another of Yalom’s signature ideas, expressed in books such as Staring at the Sun and Creatures of a Day, is that we can lessen our fear of dying by living a regret-free life, meditating on our effect on subsequent generations, and confiding in loved ones about our death anxiety. When I asked whether his lifelong preoccupation with death eases the prospect that he might pass away soon, he replied, “I think it probably makes things easier.”

The hope that our existential fears can be diminished inspires people around the world to email Yalom daily. In a Gmail folder labeled “Fans,” he had saved 4,197 messages from admirers in places ranging from Iran to Croatia to South Korea, which he invited me to look at. Some were simply thank-you notes, expressions of gratitude for the insights delivered by his books. In addition to textbooks and other works of nonfiction, he has written several novels and story collections. Some, such as Love’s Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy and When Nietzsche Wept, have been best sellers.

As I scrolled through the emails, Yalom used his cane to tap a button that alerted the nurses’ station. A voice came through the intercom, and he explained that he needed some ice for his knee. It was the third time he’d called; he told me his pain was making it difficult to concentrate on anything else, though he was trying. Throughout his stay, his wife of more than 60 years, Marilyn, had been stopping by regularly to refresh his reading material. The day before, he’d had a visit from Georgia May, the widow of the existential psychotherapist Rollo May, who was a colleague and friend of Yalom’s. When he runs out of other things to do, he plays on his iPad or his computer, using them with the dexterity of someone half his age.

Many of Yalom’s fan letters are searing meditations on death. Some correspondents hope he will offer relief from deep-seated problems. Most of the time he suggests that they find a local therapist, but if one isn’t available and the issue seems solvable in a swift period—at this point in his career, he won’t work with patients for longer than a year—he may take someone on remotely. He is currently working with people in Turkey, South Africa, and Australia via the internet. Obvious cultural distinctions aside, he says his foreign patients are not that different from the patients he treats in person. “If we live a life full of regret, full of things we haven’t done, if we’ve lived an unfulfilled life,” he says, “when death comes along, it’s a lot worse. I think it’s true for all of us.”

Becoming Myself is clearly the memoir of a psychiatrist. “I awake from my dream at 3 a.m., weeping into my pillow,” reads the opening line. Yalom’s nightmare involves a childhood incident in which he insulted a girl. Much of the book is about the influence that his youth—particularly his relationship with his mother—has had on his life. He writes, quoting Charles Dickens, “For, as I draw closer and closer to the end, I travel in the circle, nearer and nearer to the beginning.”

Yalom first gained fame among psychotherapists for The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy. The book, published in 1970, argues that the dynamic in group therapy is a microcosm of everyday life, and that addressing relationships within a therapy group could have profound therapeutic benefits outside of it. “I’ll do the sixth revision next year,” he told me, as nurses came in and out of the room. He was sitting in a chair by the window, fidgeting. Without his signature panama hat, his sideburns, which skate away from his ears, looked especially long.

Although he gave up teaching years ago, Yalom says that until he is no longer capable, he’ll continue seeing patients in the cottage in his backyard. It is a shrink’s version of a man cave, lined with books by Friedrich Nietzsche and the Stoic philosophers. The garden outside features Japanese bonsai trees; deer, rabbits, and foxes make occasional appearances nearby. “When I feel restless, I step outside and putter over the bonsai, pruning, watering, and admiring their graceful shapes,” he writes in Becoming Myself.

Yalom sees each problem encountered in therapy as something of a puzzle, one he and his patient must work together to solve. He described this dynamic in Love’s Executioner, which consists of 10 stories of patients undergoing therapy—true tales from Yalom’s work, with names changed but few other details altered. The stories concentrate not only on Yalom’s suffering patients but also on his own feelings and thoughts as a therapist. “I wanted to rehumanize therapy, to show the therapist as a real person,” he told me.

That might not sound like the stuff of potboilers, but the book, which came out in 1989, was a commercial hit, and continues to sell briskly today. In 2003, the critic Laura Miller credited it with inaugurating a new genre. Love’s Executioner, she wrote in The New York Times, had shown “that the psychological case study could give readers what the short fiction of the time increasingly refused to deliver: the pursuit of secrets, intrigue, big emotions, plot.”

Today, the people around the world who email Yalom know him mostly from his writing, which has been translated into dozens of languages. Like David Hasselhoff, he may well be more of a star outside the United States than at home. This likely reflects American readers’ religiosity and insistence on happy endings. Mondays with Yalom are not Tuesdays With Morrie. Yalom can be morbid, and he doesn’t believe in an afterlife; he says his anxiety about death is soothed somewhat by the belief that what follows life will be the same as what preceded it. Not surprisingly, he told me, highly religious readers don’t tend to gravitate toward his books.

Yalom is candid, both in his memoir and in person, about the difficulties of aging. When two of his close friends died recently, he realized that his cherished memory of their friendship is all that remains. “It dawned on me that that reality doesn’t exist anymore,” he said sadly. “When I die, it will be gone.” The thought of leaving Marilyn behind is agonizing. But he also dreads further physical deterioration. He now uses a walker with tennis balls on the bottoms of the legs, and he has recently lost weight. He coughed frequently during our meeting; when I emailed him a month later, he was feeling better, but said of his health scare, “I consider those few weeks as among the very worst of my life.” He can no longer play tennis or go scuba diving, and he fears he might have to stop bicycling. “Getting old,” he writes in ​Becoming Myself, “is giving up one damn thing after another.”

In his books, Yalom emphasizes that love can reduce death anxiety, both by providing a space for people to share their fears and by contributing to a well-lived life. Marilyn, an accomplished feminist literary scholar with whom he has a close intellectual partnership, inspires him to keep living every bit as much as she makes the idea of dying excruciating. “My wife matches me book for book,” he told me at one point. But although Yalom’s email account has a folder titled “Ideas for Writing,” he said he may finally be out of book ideas. Meanwhile, Marilyn told me that she had recently helped someone write an obituary for Irvin. “This is the reality of where we are in life,” she said.

Early in Yalom’s existential-psychotherapy practice, he was struck by how much comfort people derived from exploring their existential fears. “Dying,” he wrote in Staring at the Sun, “is lonely, the loneliest event of life.” Yet empathy and connectedness can go a long way toward reducing our anxieties about mortality. When, in the 1970s, Yalom began working with patients diagnosed with untreatable cancer, he found they were sometimes heartened by the idea that, by dying with dignity, they could be an example to others.

Death terror can occur in anyone at any time, and can have life-changing effects, both negative and positive. “Even for those with a deeply ingrained block against openness—those who have always avoided deep friendships—the idea of death may be an awakening experience, catalyzing an enormous shift in their desire for intimacy,” Yalom has written. Those who haven’t yet lived the life they wanted to can still shift their priorities late in life. “The same thing was true with Ebenezer Scrooge,” he told me, as a nurse brought him three pills.

For all the morbidity of existential psychotherapy, it is deeply life-affirming. Change is always possible. Intimacy can be freeing. Existence is precious. “I hate the idea of leaving this world, this wonderful life,” Yalom said, praising a metaphor devised by the scientist Richard Dawkins to illustrate the fleeting nature of existence. Imagine that the present moment is a spotlight moving its way across a ruler that shows the billions of years the universe has been around. Everything to the left of the area lit by the spotlight is over; to the right is the uncertain future. The chances of us being in the spotlight at this particular moment—of being alive—are minuscule. And yet here we are.

Yalom’s apprehension about death is allayed by his sense that he has lived well. “As I look back at my life, I have been an overachiever, and I have few regrets,” he said quietly. Still, he continued, people have “an inbuilt impulse to want to survive, to live.” He paused. “I hate to see life go.”

Article source here:The Atlantic