Category: Poiesis

by jad

Summer Estrangement Series

Hi, my name is Jad and I have a scarcity mindset. Okay, so that’s starting off a little glib, but seriously, when you think about it, the term has become a catch-all for all things uncouth; if not a stigma, then a case of adult cooties. No one wants a scarcity mindset. But scarcity seems like a natural default for me when budgets are limited and resources are stretched. Digital media trick us into endlessly producing because the costs are offset way down the line—our millions of JPEGs cost *something* somehow, but we’re not the ones immediately fitting the bill. … Continue reading “Summer Estrangement Series” →

by jad

LIGHT/SHADOW

The French word for a camera lens is “objectif photographique,” a factoid I learned in a piece from a series of articles & books called “Object Lessons,” which, surprisingly, has yet to publish any histories of cameras. They’ve published a book on the potato, so… But maybe the story’s too big to tell too quickly; that’s probably why the article only touches on how the 50 mm lens came to be the standard for “normal” vision. Anyway, the French word is perfect because, as the author points out, it encodes much of what we tend to think photography is for: “truth and … Continue reading “LIGHT/SHADOW” →

by jad

LOOK/SEE

There’s an ethics to looking that takes on sharp relief when one begins writing with light. Photography is the craft of capturing emanations from “out there,” and so, with a camera to look through, the predatory urge to survey and ensnare becomes a very real possibility. But to look is not necessarily to see, and there’s an ethics to that moment as well. Viktor Shklovsky writes: “this thing we call art exists in order to restore the sensation of life, in order to make us feel things, in order to make a stone stony. The goal of art is to … Continue reading “LOOK/SEE” →

by jad

Trip Like I Do—Snoqualmie Falls, June 27

So here we are, back to the start; these iconic falls “where Heaven and Earth meet” were the very first stop on our itinerary, making these some of my very first photographs on the journey. I’d read about this sacred place and wanted to capture a little bit of how indigenous peoples might perceive these waters, these “mists that roll up to Heaven” and “carry our prayers and our hopes and our dreams to the Creator of us all,” in the words of Ernie Barr, Jr. My photos weren’t successful in the way I’d imagined them when I looked through … Continue reading “Trip Like I Do—Snoqualmie Falls, June 27” →

by jad

Trip Like I Do—Eating Edition

Spokane, June 28: Our vacation was obviously not deep and moody all the time, despite our itinerary; a big part of traveling for us is finding fun spots to eat. Frank’s was the first of two train-themed restaurants we stumbled on during this trip, located right next to an active railway line. Here’s what their website says about this space: “During the golden days of railroading, Barney-Smith and Pullman vied for supremacy of the elegant rail car business. In 1906, Barney Smith manufactured this car as an “observation car”. It remained unsold until 1909, when it was purchased by the … Continue reading “Trip Like I Do—Eating Edition” →

by jad

Trip Like I Do—Palouse Falls, June 28

Getting here was incredibly rough on our poor little hybrid sedan; the road into the park is grooved like sawtooth, which is great for winter visits, I guess, but absolutely bone rattling for city slickers in a ten-year-old car like ours. I genuinely expected parts to start falling off the chassis like some Hannah-Barbara cartoon. But we made it and were greeted by the most incredible lunch spot and view. Palouse is the official state waterfall and is significant to me mostly for what isn’t here; I love that Wikipedia even includes a whole section about it: “In 1984, the … Continue reading “Trip Like I Do—Palouse Falls, June 28” →

by jad

Trip Like I Do—Priest Rapids Dam, June 28

The genesis of this whole itinerary was my reading about Smohalla, a spiritual leader of the Wanapum people and prophet of the Washani (Dreamer) religion. After yesterday’s extended quote from Eugene Smalley, I want to share a little of what Smohalla had to say: “The work of the white man hardens soul and body. Nor is it right to tear up and mutilate the earth as white men do. … We simply take the gifts that are freely offered. We no more harm the earth than would an infant’s fingers harm its mother’s breast. But the white man tears up large tracts … Continue reading “Trip Like I Do—Priest Rapids Dam, June 28” →

by jad

Trip Like I Do—That NW Bus, June 28

I’d read about this roadside attraction, but didn’t expect to stumble on it on our way to #Spokane. It’s just outside of #Washtucna, where Christine has family connections with folks who grow wheat—there’s a sign not too far from here that definitively designates the area as “wheat country.” We hadn’t planned on driving through there either & the little that we saw of this town was on the bleaker side, unfortunately. I didn’t realize it at the time, but, apparently, a group of students from this area spearheaded the effort in 2014 to declare #PalouseFalls the state’s official waterfall. I’ll … Continue reading “Trip Like I Do—That NW Bus, June 28” →

by jad

Trip Like I Do—Priest Lake, June 29-July 2

The object of our trip was Priest Lake in northern Idaho; it was our destination and where we spent most of our time. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this part of the journey. In fact, Christine reminds me that my very first reaction to a proposed gathering of sisters at this traditional family summering spot was precisely this: “I am inclined to say no.” Part of my hesitation is due to my relatively urbanized comportment: I am very much the product of my time, preferring the contemplation of natural beauty over my immersion in it. As the author of … Continue reading “Trip Like I Do—Priest Lake, June 29-July 2” →

by jad

Composition #2

Every time I think of Kundera I recall my favorite line from Unbearable Lightness: “In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine.” And as I wrote these words, I went back to refresh my memory and was surprised to see that sentence on page 4—page 4!—of the book. Could something so meaningful to me have come so early in the text? Does that make it any more or any less significant? I’m pretty sure the man would say: both. Kundera opens his Unbearable Lightness with a reflection on the concept of “eternal … Continue reading “Composition #2” →