For this edition of From the Archives, I have chosen to focus on the theme of movement. As we navigate various forms of instability and uncertainty in our social, economic, and political lives, movement–in any way and in any direction–can be a way to combat feelings of stagnancy or helplessness. The word “movement” itself has multiple definitions, all remaining relevant to the notion of change. 

Beginning with defining movement in a physical sense, Hanako Hoshimi-Caines focuses on the somatic form of movement in “The Truth,” using dance as a means to work toward and through degrees of freedom. Next, Rhiannon Galanta displays seamless movement between sounds and their corresponding meanings in “Riff On,” carrying the reader through a series of sensual expressions and images as one word develops into another. When defining movement as a group of individuals working towards a shared goal, Amal Rana’s work “name me rebel” comes forward, paying homage to the forgotten revolutionary histories of South Asian women (“o sisters / my resisters”), inspired by the anti-colonial Ghadar Poetry of the early 1900s. Regarding movement as a piece of music, VSO composer Edward Top guides readers in creating contemporary musical movements in “Pluralistic Music Composition, a Manifesto,” followed by “aliquid stat pro aliquo,” musical notation in action.

– Nel Synoradzki, 2024 Editorial Intern

Hanako Hoshimi-Caines / The Truth

From Issue 3.43 (Winter 2021)

The frame, the thinking or the sledgehammer, is the process of entry into what I’d call a “real dance,” and what I mean is a dance that dissolves and creates at the same time.

Rhiannon Galanta / Riff On

From Issue 2.33 (2001)

                                        days     dogs               dildos
                                                     down among the daisies
making daisy chains       dampness of thick grass
                                                                in the orchard
                                                 apples           pears        plums

Amal Rana / name me rebel

From Issue 3.42 (Fall 2020)

Edward Top / Pluralistic Music Composition, a Manifesto

From Issue 3.13 (Winter 2011)

6. The musical language of a work, however new or unique, should always remain communicative. When concepts for a particular work are brought forward through a newly invented incomprehensible language, the work loses all meaning. This is even truer for a work that is based on such a language alone.