I came upon poetry late in life, and am sorry for that fact. It was four years after I arrived in New York City, the spring of 2002 that I first discovered the wonders of a well turned phrase. I was 34. An invitation came to me for a gathering where poet and soon to be NEA Chairman Dana Gioia was doing a reading of some of his rhymes and reciting other favorite poems. It was the first time I had ever been invited to an event where the invitation included two books to read in preparation for the festivities. Both, written by Mr. Gioia had a profound impact on my life and forever convinced me of my need for poetry. That night in Brooklyn where poetry was extolled, was memorable and especially needed by all the New Yorkers gathered as the specter of 9/11 still lingered even six months after those dark days.

I sometimes wonder why it took me so long to discover the value of cogent, obscure writing and if I would have faced the world differently had I stumbled upon it earlier. A poignant regret rises when I think about it, and I search for the good phrases to fill that guilt.

What is it about poetry that is of such value to human life? Two possibilities come to mind. One, poetry – its reading and /or writing is an admission. Second, poetry is also a submission. I will cover the admission of poetry this week and next week delve into its submission.

Poetry admits what one knows. The construction or “turning” of a poetic phrase shows the writer and the reader what their eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and skin, coupled with their mind, are telling them about the world. When Robert Frost wrote the lines, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” he could be drawing on an actual experience, something from his imagination, or both. He is admitting what he knows and putting it in such a way that we can enter that moment with him and see the same path in the yellow wood. By bringing us to the place he describes in the poem he opens us up to what he wants to show us (this is related to the submission of poetry I will talk about next week).

The observations in the admission of poetry can also be a bit more involved than the mere raw data of the senses. There is also the admission of the complexities of human relationships in poetry. This could be called “internal admissions”. This poetry may not be as apparent in its connection to experiential things – things we see and hear and taste and touch. But they are no less real to the human experience because they communicate the emotional inner workings of what the poet is thinking.

This is why romantic and love poetry can have such depth. While I was dating my then girlfriend/now wife, my favorite poet to share with her was Michael O‘Siadhail (pronounced “Meehole O’She’ll). His book of poems called Love Life was written about his relationship with his wife. One of our favorites that we still quote from time to time today is called For Real:

A first gazing at you unawares.

Wonder by wonder my body savours

 

The conch-like detail of an ear,

An amethyst ring on your finger.

 

Could I ever have enough of you?

Juiced cantaloupe, ripe honeydew,

 

Slack desire as I desire you more.

Laugh as no one laughed before.

 

Vivid more vivid, real more real.

I stare towards heavens you reveal.

 

Yellower yellow. Bluer blue.

Can you see me as I see you?

 

Sweeter than being loved to love.

Sweetest our beings’ hand in glove

 

Milk and honey, spice and wine.

I’m your lover. You are mine.”

The intimate desire is obvious in this poem. Michael is sharing an inner feeling that he has no other way of describing except to go to concrete details – an ear, a ring, a laugh, a hand in glove, etc. He is sharing what he knows about this loving relationship with his wife and he invites us to consider whether we have one like this too. He is calling us to admit our love for someone and perhaps put it into similar words he does.

Frost’s and O’Siadhail’s poems are just a couple of examples of one aspect of poetry, its ability to help us with admitting what we know. I would wager we could find this same characteristic rather evident in most poetry. But there is another aspect of poetry that goes beyond the boundaries of admission and helps us also see more of our true humanity, and that is submission – which I will address next week.

Kirk speaking at Grace and Peace Church in St Louis

Last week I began to answer a question asked in Daniel Siedell’s book, God in the Gallery where he asked, “Can one experience Truth aesthetically without knowing Truth cognitively?” I believe a confident “Yes” and “No” can be the answer for this question. I posited that Psalm 19 was a place to start in seeing aesthetic Truth validly experienced by every human being.

Psalm 19 isn’t the only place in the Jewish Bible where a “speaking creation” is mentioned:

Isaiah 44:

Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.

Isaiah 49:

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.

Isaiah 55:

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Psalm 50:

The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!

I Chronicles 16

Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.

Psalm 96:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Interacting with new friends over what God smells like at Grace and Peace Church in St Louis

This same concept is mentioned in the Christian Scriptures. The day Jesus entered Jerusalem before his crucifixion he is rebuked by the religious leaders because the people were cheering too much. When they ask him to tell them to stop he says, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” In Romans 8 St. Paul points out how the creation is groaning, waiting for the day God judges the earth. So, yes, I believe it is possible to experience aesthetic Truth without knowing it cognitively in a full way.

However, is it possible to fully separate the cognitive from the aesthetic, the “gray matter’s” working from the five senses?

St. Paul in Romans 1 lays out the complex “yes and no” in answer to Siedell’s question:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Here we see how St. Paul seems to say “yes” people see the aesthetic Truth of God’s creation and Him as Creator. But sadly, they suppress it. They know it but choose to forget it, even actively so. The relationship between the senses and the mind seems pretty clear here.

Where would knowledge be without sensual experience? Where would the senses be without any cognitive activity? If you separate the two you risk not seeing either of these Truths fully.

I think this is why there is a tension within the Christian tradition between those who are strong advocates for the proclamation of the message of Jesus and those who prefer a less confrontational approach relying on their life-style to communicate the message. Both sides criticize the other for the apparent weaknesses of their preference without seeming to realize their strengths complement the other. How can you “embody” Jesus’ message without from time to time using vocal chords contained in your body? How can you verbalize the message without the body?

Dorothy Sayers wrote in Mind of the Maker:

The confusion is as though two men were to argue fiercely whether there was a river in a certain district or whether, on the contrary, there was a measurable volume of H2O moving in a particular direction with an ascertainable velocity; neither having any suspicion that they were describing the same phenomenon.[1]

"Imago Dei - Dorothy Sayers" by Sarah Kennedy Irwin, oil on panel

In his book The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter wrote:

Vincent Donovan, the modern Catholic apostle to the Masai people of East Africa, once observed that Protestant Christian leaders seem to trust only the sense of hearing and therefore rely almost totally upon using the preached and taught Word to reach and teach people. By contrast, he said Celtic Catholics have always known that God can use all the senses to “speak” to people.[2]

If God created the five senses, why wouldn’t He use them as a way to communicate Truth? Siedell lays this out rather clearly when he writes, “The power of art relies on the belief that smelly oils, rough canvas, graphite, and other based materials can provide a profound aesthetic experience.”[3] And I believe this “profound aesthetic experience” has the ability to lead a person to Truth.

I think JK Rowling was onto something when she had her characters suggest the eating of chocolate after an encounter with a Dementor. At the very least the sweet taste of cocoa in your mouth would be the start of recovery from the icy touch of evil.

When you did the exercise I suggested at the beginning of this post was your memory accentuated in any way by the taste of a good thing in your mouth? Did other good memories perhaps fight for attention? I know that from now on most days after my morning shave I will be reminded of my grandfather.

Oh, taste – smell – feel – hear and see that the Lord is good!

Here is the third of several audio recordings of that weekend.

INTERVIEW
with Casey Mink
VIOLINIST

In Casey Mink’s 15 years of playing the violin, he has performed with the Florida Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, served as string teacher at the University of Miami’s Young Musician’s camp, won an undergraduate research grant from the University of North Florida to study at the International Academy of Music, St. Petersburg, Russia, and received an invitation to be guest violinist with the North Florida Chorale’s concert tour to Portugal. In May-June 2010, he organized and participated in a concert series of solo and chamber music in Beijing and Fujian, China.

Casey recently earned a Master of Music in Performance from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

* For more information about Friday Arts Project, visit their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friday-Arts-Project/103217787769

Here is the second of several audio recordings of that weekend.

PERFORMANCE
by Casey Mink
VIOLINIST

In Casey Mink’s 15 years of playing the violin, he has performed with the Florida Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, served as string teacher at the University of Miami’s Young Musician’s camp, won an undergraduate research grant from the University of North Florida to study at the International Academy of Music, St. Petersburg, Russia, and received an invitation to be guest violinist with the North Florida Chorale’s concert tour to Portugal. In May-June 2010, he organized and participated in a concert series of solo and chamber music in Beijing and Fujian, China.

Casey recently earned a Master of Music in Performance from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

* For more information about Friday Arts Project, visit their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friday-Arts-Project/103217787769

Take a moment and try this exercise.

Find a piece of your favorite candy or prepare a cup of your favorite drink. I love caramel and Starbucks Frappuccino’s, but you may love something else. When you have one of your favorite items prepared to consume find a place to sit and get ready to eat or drink your chosen item.

Close your eyes, think back on your life, and find a favorite memory – one where you were completely happy or content. It could be the first time you saw your future spouse? Or perhaps it was when you saw a unique natural vista or a favorite painting of an artist you love for the first time? Maybe your happy/content moment was a great conversation you recently had with a friend or a meal shared among friends when life’s cares were set aside for a time.

Whatever your memory is, go there in your mind and evoke all the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that may have been there at the moment. After meditating on that moment for a short time, pop the candy in your mouth or sip your favorite drink and think about these words:

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

Pinaid Clubman

I have come to like Facebook. It has been a great way for me to communicate and keep in touch with people I would have not otherwise. Being an “out of sight out of mind” kind of person, Facebook helps me keep things in sight especially friends I love and cherish.

Recently a friend posted a link to a website that featured quotes from World War II General George S Patton on a variety of subjects. As I finished reading the quotes I noticed that the name of the website was, “The Art of Manliness”. Intrigued by the forthrightness of the site, I began to explore more. Not wanting to let my hygiene habits slip, I decided to see what “Manly” dress and grooming like was so I clicked the link and was further drawn in by a post titled. “6 Forgotten Drugstore Colognes and Aftershaves”.

Brut, Old Spice, Stetson were all listed, but what caught my attention was the first one on the list, Pinaud Clubman. Around since 1810, Clubman is the obvious “Methuselah” winner and the mainstay for most barber shops around the country. The age and the 19^th century illustration of a dapper gentlemen interested me. So when I saw it on the shelf of our local CVS, I bought it.

Frank and Dorcas Irwin, Kirk's grandparents

In his book, God in the Gallery, Daniel Siedell asks the question, “Can one experience Truth aesthetically without knowing Truth cognitively?”[2] He answers safely, “Perhaps”, but a firm “Yes” and “No” can be answered because of the unique complexities of that question.

Psalm 19:1-4 states:

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voicegoes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.

According to Hebrew Scriptures the very environment we walk and live in is speaking every second of every day and night. In fact, “Their voice goes out through all the earth”. So is it possible to walk through a day in this world and NOT hear it?

Author Dorothy Sayers once observed that if all we knew of God was Genesis 1:1 we’d know He was creative.[3] I have met few artists that say to me that they are NOT trying to say anything in and through their art. Why would we expect anything less from God’s “art piece”?

Suppose we took a trip to the East Coast to meet the Sun as it rose over the Atlantic, what would we hear? Say we hopped into our super-fast vehicle and rode to the Appalachian chain by mid-morning to take in the Blue Ridge Mountains what language would they speak? By noon we find ourselves lunching on the Mississippi where between crunches we crane our ears to listen to the soft whisper of that old river to hear her language. What would we hear? As we pass through Denver mid-afternoon to grab coffee we pause in front of the massive, snow-covered Rockies which disappear out of our site and wait for them to say something to us…what would they say? To end our day we sit on the soft beaches of the West Coast to say farewell to the Sun we greeted that morning as it disappears into the Pacific…would there be any language spoken as it sinks?

Kirk speaking at Grace and Peace Presbyterian Church in St Louis

Here is the first of several audio recordings of that weekend.

LECTURE & INTERVIEW
with Luke Allsbrook
PAINTER

lukeallsbrook.net

Luke received a BFA in Painting from Indiana University (Bloomington) and an MFA (cum laude) from The New York Academy of Art. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the US and is included in the Forbes collection, Mercedes Benz, The US Department of State, and in the collection of His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. Mr. Allsbrook served as official tour artist for The Prince on his 2005 state tour of the United States.

He now resides in the mountains of Western North Carolina with his wife, Renee, and four children (Boyd, Charlotte, Calvin, and Margaret).

* For more information about Friday Arts Project, visit their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friday-Arts-Project/103217787769

A subject that has been discussed for millennia, “Beauty” is still important today…maybe more so. But WHAT is it? Why is it important? And how is it related to the Art community and the non-artist community? Is it mere “window dressing”—confined to that which we see in the visible world, or is it perhaps a deeper thing? What is the source of Beauty? Is it a brute power—in and of itself—like “the Force” in Star Wars? Is it even valuable to simple everyday life?

This lecture was the subject of our October 2011 Newsletter.

I noticed it has been months since my last post, therefore I extend my apologies. I have several ideas in the works and will be posting them in the near future. In the meantime, I thought I would share a post from a colleague and friend. Mako Fujimura is someone whom I have tremendous love and respect for and count him a very important friend in my life. His recent essay for the BioLogos Forum is one of he best pieces I have read from him yet…and he has written  a bunch of great stuff.

Make note of where he argues art falls in the warp and woof of human life and thought—and in this case in science. This is why I persuade people to include the act of creativity—art—in their everyday lives. This is why art is of inestimable importance to the world, the Church, and God’s desire for this world right now in this moment in history. Art is not more important than anything else, but it just might be more important right now in history.

Click here for Mako’s essay.

Our Facebook Page

If you were not aware of this before we’d like to let you know that we have a Facebook page.

Click here for our Facebook page.

I post quite often onto that site because it is a primary way I keep in touch with friends. Much of the stuff I post there is art related or where the art and the sacred cross or simply fun stuff from a moment in our daily lives. We’d love to have you subscribe to that site. We are so grateful for your interest in what God is doing through the Beautiful.

Peace,

Kirk & Sarah

Bird and Key

I will tell you WHAT I have been thinking about lately, and I hope to write some things on both these subjects in the future. I have been reading a book on “evangelism” during my devotional times of late and it has caused me to think more on that subject…a subject that is quite “taboo” in our culture. So I have been formulating a “defense” of sorts, on evangelism. I don’t want to give a defense strictly from the Bible because even a cursory reading of the Bible does a good job of defending itself in that. I want to focus in on the humanity of persuasion….or evangelism…or proselytizing. We hate those words, but I would argue that they are closely united to what it means to be human – perhaps that is why they are hated so much. Frankly we “evangelize” every where, all the time…we just don’t admit it.

The other area I have been thinking about is related to the series of talks I have been listening to done by Malcolm Guite on the Inklings…CS Lewis, JRR Tokien (the more well known), Charles Williams, and – the one I’ve heard the least about but am now excited to read more of – Owen Barfield. The question Guite argues they wrestled with most was the relationship between reason and imagination. This has spurred me to think about beauty and imagination, about reason and beauty, and about art and imagination. I have posted a couple of his talks on our Facebook page (click here to access and “like” our FB page), and plan to post them all quite frankly. I’ve listened to three and have not been disappointed at all – in fact I just finished the talk on Owen Barfield today and I am on the verge of adopting him as a new literary hero (Click here for the site with the Malcolm Guite talks on the Inklings).

Finally, I thought I’d let you know of our travel schedule over the holidays. We plan to be in the Maryland area for Christmas, New Years, and on into January. We would love to connect with you all to say hello and catch up, so please send us a “Hey you!” I will be speaking at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Newark, Delaware on Friday, January 13th on the subject of Beauty. More details will be posted here and on our Facebook page. If you are in the area come on by. There are a couple of other possible dates I will be speaking but won’t post them until they get solidified. At the end of January (27th-29th) I will be participating in a weekend event called a “Forum on Beauty: Three days of Exploration”. I will be doing some speaking, but most exciting of all we will be interviewing and interacting with artists about their works and exploring the depths of all things beautiful. It will be in Rock Hill, South Carolina more details to come (click here for some details).

Happy advent, friends…unto us is born!
Kirk & Sarah

Bird and Key

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/links/thanksgiving.html
Of course in America the artist that comes to mind is Norman Rockwell, and you will see a lot of his work at these sites. Sarah and I last year while in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC saw a retrospective of his work from the collections of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. It was a surprising little discovery in a beautiful Museum, one we frequent when we are in town. Summaries of that show are here:

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2010/rockwell/
Sarah and I both hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace from Bird & Key,

Kirk & Sarah