Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Béatrice Machet, September the 21rst, south of France-- to pick people up in an endless journey



Dear all, 

Sorry I’ve been very busy with visitors and poetry projects in France, so I might have missed posting a poem each day, … in English, …. Which is a challenge as I’m following another demanding daily writing practice in French! It’s like I’ve got two lives at the same time, one in French and one in English!

Anyway and considering I’m still wanting to continue this project, count me in the next project 365, or 52 depending on how things happen.

Now responding to Kit’s questions:

What does it mean to show our working like this to the world? What does it mean to the world? And what does it mean to us?

Sometimes I feel living is like walking on quicksand and to show our working is like saying : writing is somewhat testifying that to go through life is like walking on quicksand. Sometimes I’m more assertive and to show our working is saying to people: hey, you too, be creative, enjoy writing-painting or shooting photographs, take the plunge and have fun. Dare and share!

What does it mean to be an artist or poet and not do it every day/not show it to the world every day? Is there something extreme about what we're doing? Is there a politics of this? A psychology/sociology? Were we just born this way? What are we about?
Well, it merely means I have no other choice to feel good, “bonne qu’à ça” (this is all I’m good for) as Beckett would have answered! Being, thinking, living as an artist, connected to creativity, improvisation, sharing, exchanges etc, is my way to feel some kind of fulfilment and joy, to feel I’m fully human. ( But it doesn’t mean I need to be on stage or admired and applauded, not at all! It means I’m on my way and having a “quest of vision” to reach my true self) And yes there is something extreme about and into it! Because it means pushing some limits, it means asking questions all the time, it means being demanding towards yourself and accepting some kind of “insecurity”, as Pesoa would have put it: l’inquiétude, the state of mind when you feel concerned, un-quiet, (not exactly worried in its French or Portuguese meaning). It means to “explore”, to take risks, not physical risks per se, (even though sometimes when performing you do take physical risks and you have fun!) but it means to risk your mind, your sense of identity, of belonging, and even the sense of being someone.  Sure there is a politics of this ( and a sense of  discipline as well) and to my eyes, somehow,  it’s related to a psychological/sociological personality profile, which seems to be having the will to make as many experiences as possible, to keep your heart open, to pay attention and be aware of the little tiny things (considered as nothing, unimportant) that happen just next to you, to build bridges between disciplines and people,  to feel yourself involved in an endless journey, to pick people up in an endless journey  to work so as to gain integrity and honesty and sincerity in every aspect of your  life …. Were we born this way? It’s hard to tell and harder to believe! Since we know the main importance of environments, education, people you meet, childhood experiences etc etc… nevertheless I would easily assert that a big seed of curiosity and the capacity to live intensely are required. What are we about ...??? Well in my mind and the way I look at it, from my utopist perspective, it connects the dots between art and politics! We are about to build an egalitarian community, (if not society), because we are widening our minds to what it could mean to be human, to be alive. We are shifting from one cultural reference to the other so as to be able to look at the world without being protected behind any shield, any cliché … we are about to reach some universal knowledge and wisdom which is different from being labeled as “scholars” (learned, savants, experts etc) … and we do it together, wanting to be in tune, and it’s just wonderful! ( I just sometimes feel frustrated to have little time to completely devote myself to it!)

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