Simon Mol
In times of peace, Arts entertains. In times of trepidation it transforms into an effective contraption of protest. And being an expression and reflection of the human consciousness, Arts is infused with life-force. This means It is unequivocally conscious and therefore Its influence on human evolution cannot be underestimated. And we should bear in mind that Evolution and Revolution are akin to a body and its shadow. Bards—armed by Nature with the power of expression via Word—scheme revolutions within the field of human consciousness in order to bring about evolution. This usually leaves them at odds with lethal and dark forces that strive to extinguish them… how poignant!
Between March 18-25, Poland will host 14 foreign writers and poets in a European project dubbed ‘And The City Spoke’. Most of the writers and poets (drawn from Africa, Asia and Latin America) were compelled by various forms of dangerous disagreements with state authorities to flee their homelands. They ended up in Europe, where they live in exile. Much credit goes to the pilot of the project— the London-based organization Exile Writers Ink! for rallying the writers and giving them a voice. In troubling times as the one we live in, the initiative is a courageous attempt to dare those who oppose the emergence of the foreign voice. The European Cultural Foundation should also be lauded for funding the project.
The Bards therefore are coming. Yes they are coming to entertain. But make no mistake about it—they are equally coming to protest. Why shouldn’t they, when the roofs above their heads are on fire? After all, aren’t we living under the roof of the so-called Global Village? The Bards shall recount their experiences—mixtures of joy, sorrow, regret, nostalgia and softness to their exile-homes and societies. In his classic piece of essay—My Town—, Chilean exile poet Jose Amador Ponce who now lives in Belgium, best betrayed love for his new homeland: I have adopted Brussels. I have made it mine. My children were born here. This is my town and I am part of it… He too shall be coming to Warsaw.
Can a refugee who is hosted by a ‘town’ that refuses to shelter him/her, proudly say of such a ‘town’— ‘This is my town and I am part of it’, as did Jose Amador Ponce? I doubt.
The core message of their Coming shall be ‘Acceptance’. Within the scope of Globalisation, the Bards shall paint with words clearly that: ‘Under the canopy of globalization, an Aborigine who ends up, say in Canada, should have the same rights and privileges as say, a Pole who ends up in South Africa.’ Above all, the Bards shall say with one voice—"A globalization founded on the principle of ‘What belongs to You is Ours and what belongs to Me is Mine’, is good for nobody’. A global marriage based on such a treacherous philosopher—no matter how cunningly conceived—will ultimately stir revolt.
And the City Spoke European Exiled Writers Voices
When: 20 March 2005
Where: National Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, ul.Kredytowa 1
This is the Polish part of a project which was originally initiated by the Exiled Writers Ink in Great Britain. In Warsaw and Gdynia the project includes readings by writers in exile, performances and a seminar.
Simon, I want to tell you that I found your story and your site inspirational. I am a poet and I believe passionately in the transformational power of writing: that, in writing, we discover things about ourselves that we did not know before, that we can create new meanings for our selves, and that painful experiences can become more manageable on the page. I also know that there are many people in our world who never get a chance to write or tell their story. Or perhaps, when they do summon the courage, their story is treated with suspicion or gets distorted by people who don't understand. And so recently I started a blog called Lots of Big Ideas, in order to try to create a space for anyone to tell their stories, stories which might not otherwise be heard and witnessed. I'd like to encourage people to get blogs going of their own, link them to mine and so create a writing and story-telling community which seeks to counter the distorted stories about displaced people which circulate in so much of the media. I hope that you and anyone who reads this will visit the blog at www.lotsofbigideas.blogspot.com and help it to grow. Big ideas start small and maybe, if enough of us join together, we can change things. Thanks, Simon and keep telling your stories.
Posted by: Sophie Nicholls | March 19, 2005 at 04:30 PM