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THE MUSES

A Quarterly Update on Modern Inspiration:

Music / Poets / People

 

     

 

ANDREA GIBSON / DEF POET

 

   

Keariene Muizz Painting at Good Shepard Cemetery

Photos Courtesy of Eric Risberg, Associated Presss

 

  

 

SOMETHING BORROWED

I don’t believe that everything has already been done or achieved, or said, for that matter. But when it comes to philosophy a concept I have borrowed over time is that we are the cause for many of the effects in our lives. I do believe this very strongly, with a conviction that holds the limit and boundaries of this idea in sight. For instance, I wouldn’t tell one of the foster teens we work with that they are the cause for their lack of parental support. I could never dream of speaking such an injustice to anyone, but in many other areas the “I am the cause of this effect” is very fitting. To the bewilderment of many, especially the opposite sex, I am very logical and systematic. I stumped a professor of mine one night many years ago when we were discussing elements of community psychology; the convo went off on a tangent that was somewhat related to the topic, I forget what that was now. And in giving an example this doctor stated how frustrated her sister-in-law was whenever she spoke to her husband and wanted his support, she wanted him to listen to her without his being motivated to want to fix things.  I then told her that her S-I-L had it all wrong and instead of creating scenarios that would inevitably end in an argument she instead needed to know when to talk to her husband, “If she needs to vent she should talk to her girlfriends –when she needs it fixed, she should go to her husband. That solves everything instead of creating havoc.”  Dr. X stopped midair with her hand on her chin, lost in contemplation as if thinking, “…is that what I’ve been doing wrong all this time.”  Hey if her S-I-L wanted to keep hitting her head against a brick wall and then keep acting surprised when it hurt –that’s totally up to her, but in my life where I evaluate the manifestations of the things I construct there was much I had to take responsibility for. Now. Everything I ever needed has found me.  

 

  

MOS DEF MADE MY DAY

Music is the only drug I've ever known and the only thing worth being addicted to, in my opinion. I painted L'Offrande to "Lifetime" by Mos Def and have always considered him my favorite hip hop artist of all time. Needless to say it was a delight to see him perform before a small crowd of maybe 700. He has so many good songs! My favorite is "Umi Says" but it's a little too down tempo so I was certain he wasn't going to sing it. I was in the teeny tiny pit between the crowd and the stage, standing with the photographers. I had been listening to "Ms. Fat Booty" for about a month when a close friend told me about the the show. There was a pause between songs and so I saw it as my opportunity to scream out my request to Mos. "Ms. Fat Booty" I yelled, already hoarse from supporting the opening acts. Mos Def was about to sing some other song, then he turned to the DJ and he changed the line up. (Staples ticket to diary with a satisfactory grin) As soon as the song came on the crowd went absolutely nuts. Girls behind me in the front row were like, "Mos sang that song for you!" I came home and went to sleep thinking -mission accomplished, I heard my song, I got my fix! And what's even funnier is I dreamt that he sang "Umi Says." Classic wish-fulfillment. In the meantime my newest set of speakers are going to blow out in no time from my love of the newest Kings of Leon track "Use Somebody."
 

A KILLER IS CAUGHT

Had someone whispered to me a year ago, after the collection was in the press, that the criminal who murdered Jeanette eight years ago would have been apprehended and the emotional puzzle that became our lives, would be pieced together with answers, I would have shook my head in almost certain disbelief. But my phone rang Monday, March 2nd, and on the other end was a British accent belonging to a journalist in London who went through the pain of contacting so many to get in touch with me in order to deliver the news I had convinced myself I would never hear. The search was over... I am still digesting it all. I told Jeanette's mother less than two years ago that if the murderer was a criminal, and not a person who made a mistake, that he would trip himself up eventually. The journalist said, "Well, you were spot on." I feel like I am standing on a frozen lake and I do not know if the ice is strong enough to hold me or whether I will go crashing down into the frozen water below when I say to myself that eventually people pay for the harm they've imposed, in this life. I feel this way because I am unsure if this truth can hold me, but I am putting my faith in this belief regardless, confident that I can manage any outcome that will pass. After years of debating karma, one night a friend and I concluded it wasn't waiting for bad things to happen to bad people but to be sincere in all things in order for positive things to continue to find you. I hope everything you give is returned to you, even if what is returned doesn't come from the source you anticipated. Be You For You. -Keariene

LEON MILO / PARIS BASED COMPOSER

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