Saying hello from Bogota
I arrived at midnight on Sunday. I loved the city immediately but was struck with altitude sickness yesterday. The people are very kind and today I am much better. We had a press conference this morning with around forty journalists. There were great questions ranging from the secret of poetry to Soundwalk Collectives’ process. Then we made some adjustments in the Correspondence exhibition which was exciting. There are eight screens with subject matter concerning climate change, underwater seismic guns that are devastating the whale and dolphin communities, the death of Pasolini, the rage of Medea, and the artist and acolyte seen through the eyes of Tarkovsky. Tonight we will be performing these pieces at the late eighteenth century opera house.
I am including some pictures. It was raining today so I didn’t take many. But I am including work in progress shots of Correspondence. I hope all is well with everyone. My heart is heavy thinking of fires everywhere. I hope you are all safe. I will report tomorrow. Incidentally, the soup comes with fresh avocado and a roasted ear of corn….
Hi Patti! Have you read Joan Didion's essay on Bogota in The White Album? I reckon it is quite different now from when she was there many decades ago, but you know how she gets a sense of a place and brings it to us like snapshots sharp as cut gemstones that you can hold in your hand and look at for the rest of your life and so whenever I think of Bogota I think of her, moving through the thin air of that world and registering everything... It was so beautiful when you sang Chimes of Freedom at her memorial, I wept for days. Anyway, I just reread her essay for the hundredth time the other day and the next day saw you were going to Bogota and I loved this coincidence and couldn't wait to read your impressions. The way you bring your travels to us is so moving to me and I'm very grateful for that and so this is to say thank you as well.
Thank you for sharing your note and pictures from Bogotà . I hope you are recovering quickly from altitude sickness. I would love to learn more about the exhibition and your answers to the secrets of poetry that you gave at the press conference.
The news about the wildfires is so devastating. Every year in autumn, we fly to the south of Rhodes, to a small village in the hills, far from the major tourist cities. This is my place where everything is good. During the day, we enjoy the tranquility and the sun. At night, we spend endless hours gazing at the starry sky, searching for constellations and counting shooting stars. Tonight, the two neighboring villages of our safe haven are in flames. My heart is heavy, thinking of all the dear people who live there and who have always been so warm to us. I hope they are safe.
Last year, I trained for my first half marathon in the hills of Rhodes. The trees there shine golden in the evening light, and my only encounters on those lonely paths were with wild goats and Dama-Dama (a unique deer species only living on Rhodes and protected due to its low population). The memory of those animals grazing in the golden evening sun carried me through my race. These forests are also the home and sanctuary of these animals. I hope the fires there, and elsewhere in the world, will be extinguished swiftly. Warm regards to all.