For this month’s “From the Archives,” we combed through our past issues for work that speaks to the different ways that sound – its absence, its presence, its musicality – has inspired artists from different backgrounds and walks of life. First, we stop by Issue 1.14 (1978) and visit Daniel Powers’s “Dancer,” in which three black-and-white photographs capture the titular figure moving to upbeat music, their limbs and hair ablur. Next, we share work from Issue 1.31 (1984): Sound Poetry, where we find Gerry Shikitani’s erudite meditation on the use of silence in art, “THINKS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT.” Moving forward two decades to Issue 2.49 (Spring 2006), we encounter Phinder Dulai’s “Mourning—A Series of Ghazals,” in which traditionally sung couplets are used to unpack the relationship between death and warfare. Finally, Issue 3.9 (Fall 2009), which paid tribute to poet and author Robin Blaser, features Lloyd Burritt’s sheet music for “Suddenly,” which was written as accompaniment to Blaser’s poem of the same name.
Check out all four pieces below.
Daniel Powers
“Dancer”
from Issue 1.14 (1978)
Gerry Shikitani
“THINKS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT”
from Issue 1.31 (1984)
facing east of station, the bustle of product placed tragedy
water fronted, churning metal locks on rails, benign every days without
the flat palm an exasperated call to daily prayer
echoes ricochet from a prayer mat never weaved to be without
Phinder Dulai
“MOURNING — A SERIES OF GHAZALS”
from Issue 2.49 (Spring 2006)
Read PDF
Lloyd Burritt and Robin Blaser
“Suddenly”
from Issue 3.9 (Fall 2009)
Our 50th Anniversary “From the Archives” series is headed by associate editor Jastej Luddu and supported by a BC Arts Council Early Career Development Grant.
