Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Hello, Readers,
Happy Spring -- and a gorgeous one it's turning out to be!
As I reflect upon my own poems and essays, I reflect also upon those of others. On behalf of all of us whose blogs are not time-bound daily "updates" but rather discrete artistic endeavors of writing or other forms of art, I wish to highlight the point that our "archived" pieces, therefore, are just as timely today as they were on the day they were posted. Because each piece is meant to stand alone (unless, of course, it's written in parts, or chapters), it doesn't "age" the way a time-bound blog update would age. Poetry, essays, creative writing, and the visual arts don't age at all. The word "archive," in this case, does not imply "out of date" or "now potentially irrelevant" as it might in a different type of blog.
So I ask you, please, to try and look into the archived months on this blog at some point in your browsing. An author's earlier works can help flesh out one's interpretation of his later works.
And, yes, following my own advice, I do always attempt to "look back" at my fellow writers' earlier, or earliest, pieces. I have found this to be a rich source of understanding and ongoing significance.
Speaking of significance, for those of you who are Armenian and for all others who appreciate the momentum of history, I wish to commemorate this memorial day of earthshaking significance: Armenian Genocide Memorial Day.
In his soul-rattling book, Black Dog of Fate, author Peter Balakian captures the horrific reality of the Armenian Genocide -- understood through the eyes of his beloved grandmother -- with a traumatically jarring poem toward the middle of the book. The whole work really must be read.
In honor of this day, I enclose here a link to one of my favorite musical works (please click on title below):
May the blood, sacrifice, martyrdom, and tears of the Armenian people and their descendants bear renewed life and meaning for those in the homeland and in the diaspora.
God bless you all.
Sincerely,
~ Turquoise
