Fireweed got its name by being prolific after forest fires in the Pacific Northwest. It is opportunistic in that way. There is a way that art can become opportunistic after a new medium is born or a fresh perspective is accepted. Fireweed reminds me of popular culture and how that, like fireweed in a forest, prevents cultural erosion. They both have medicinal qualities as they address concerns in a sustainable way for eager eyes and ears. Fireweed and trends in popular culture hold space for the deeper revolutionary artistic and cultural processes in human evolution that are always forming after dying ways of expression have been torched and made obsolete.
Hafiz here talks about how a few people are so talented that they can simply imply what is holy and infuse the mundane with the sacred. They deliver this to us without our even having to afford any effort. They can and will unconsciously play us into some kind of brilliant spiritual experience because we want that, whether we admit it or not. More commonly, as writers and storytellers, those of us in the ground cover department must forage for the right words and belabor each letter to convey our feelings - to deliver our medicine. Our job is to hold the ground and wait until some analogous Bach or Einstein or Buddha or Christ makes the scene and they have a place to begin to alter the landscape for new and evolved experiences to take seed.
Thank you for listening.
Music: When it comes to gifted artists, high on that list are these two: Leonard Cohen and the fabulous k.d. lang. Cohen wrote Hallelujah in the 1980's and it has been recorded by over 300 artists. Such is its impact. Cohen was not a religious man but a spiritual one and few could mix the sacred and the secular quite as well as he could in his lyrics as exemplified in Hallelujah. This song with the pipes k.d. lang sports makes the tune soar taking us to rarefied inspirational elevations.
The original post in this series of poems by Hafiz (including an addendum regarding the authenticity of these poems) can be found here. Also, my thoughts on this series a year into these poems, HERE.
The Gift: Poems by Hafiz and translated by Daniel Ladinsky can be purchased here.
My book can be purchased HERE. E-book HERE. The Season Two blogcasts with audio excerpts from my book begin HERE: in Behind The Lines. This reading of the book excerpts in a mixed media format is Season Two of this blog. These recorded excerpts are outside the chronological order in which the book was written. Podcasts with audio only beginning with episode 22 can be found HERE.