Poetry in a Time of Isolation and Panic
In difficult times, art and poetry have been a tether that keeps us bound together. It helps us remember our humanity and our connections.
Right now, we are stuck at home trying to find ways to fill the ever passing hours. The outside world feels as though it is changing at an alarming pace into some kind of untouchable realm beyond anything we could have ever predicted. In times like this, it is too easy to feel isolated and lost within your head– it can be an incredibly lonely feeling.
In difficult times, art and poetry have been a tether that keeps us bound together. It helps us remember our humanity and our connections. Wartime poets recorded the horrors they lived through. Harlem Renaissance poets immortalized the suffering of black bodies through the written word. Female poets have pressed their assaults and wounds into the inked pages of journals. Poetry serves to tell the truth for those alive now and for those who live in the future.
Catharsis can be found in words. The links below are sites with extensive poetic resources; listening to live readings, learning about the lives of past poets, and potentially finding inspiration to write your poems can help pass the time spent in lockdown. Through art, we can find other voices out there that echo our own.
Where to read and listen to poetry online:
-https://www.poetryfoundation.org/
-https://www.asymptotejournal.com/
-https://www.palettepoetry.com/
-https://www.poetryfoundation.org/podcasts
-https://lithub.com/some-of-the-best-of-online-poetry-as-read-by-actual-poets/
-https://www.eventbrite.com/d/online/free--events/poetry-slam/
-https://www.instagram.com/okaycoolmagazine/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/TheBoweryPoetryClub/
Report: Nicolette Schneiderman
Summer Read: "Ready Player One"
Get swept away into the OAISIS! Read Cline's "Ready Player One".
Get swept away into the OAISIS! Ernest Cline’s debut novel is praised among critics, gaining a spot on the New York Times best seller list and a 2018 Steven Spielberg movie. As a science- fiction adventure story, “Ready Player One” (2011) is set in a 2045 dystopia world where virtual reality has become the new reality. Here, people find solace in an online society: the OAISIS. After his death, James Donovan Halliday -- creator of the OAISIS—hides his fortune in this virtual world, leaving clues for people to find the Easter Egg. Whoever finds it would become the richest, most powerful person in the world. Protagonist Wade Watts --otherwise known as Parzival-- and the other gunters (egg hunters) must find the fortune before IOI does or everyone must face real world consequences.
This book is a great summer read for all audiences, especially if video games and eighties references are your passion. Cline hides these Easter Eggs all throughout the story, ranging from John Hughes movies to Dungeons & Dragons. Having a young protagonist adds to the nostalgia. This isn’t just a story about cultural phenomena but learning about friendships and social interaction. The conflicts and morals could definitely have modern implications, especially as we continue to launch ourselves into the digital age. Readers can’t help but be entangled in the OAISIS and swept away on an exciting adventure.
Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One” novel; ISBN-13: 978-0307887443
“Ready Player One” Spielberg poster, 2018
Report: Victoria Namnama
At the rise of Covid-19 many of us first questioned the timeline of fashion week and would we see the regular calendar continue - the question weighed over many of us for months! It was refreshing to see design houses and designers across the globe take advantage of the uncertainty and plow into production mode - thus my interest in Jerri Reid New York - The Black Designer based in Brooklyn New York wow’d instagram with his latest collection paying homage to the Black Is King film which debuted earlier this year in July. I was taken aback at quick of a turn round the young designer produced and released his well crafted designs reflecting some of the films most memorable moments.