THE SLOW TURN OF CONSTELLATIONS

I have had a busy couple of weeks. I have phoned in my last two posts from far away, such has been my circumstances. I do want to briefly mention the Chagall exhibition at Tate Liverpool-fantastic! It’s always fun to take a trip down the pool and the Chagall exhibition makes it even more so. There is something universal in the art of Chagall, it really sings to me.

I also heard an amazing young musician- more hopefully of HIM in the near future. Here’s a taster to be going on with.

Last week I was in the south of France visiting friends and I spent a day in Bordeaux where I was much taken with an exhibition by the great Catalan artist Jaume Plensa. I only managed to see a couple of his pieces as they were scattered about the city.

Prior to this the only example of his work I had seen was in St. Helens, where a head rises out of the wood to commemorate the triumphs of the miners at Bold Colliery. I have passed that many times in wonder.

Bordeaux is a very sympathetic setting for Jaume’s work. There is a dream-like aspect to the juxtaposition of living city and the scale of Jaume’s vision. What do you think?

Here’s a poem I wrote while I was further south visiting friends. I am not sure it’s complete yet.

We tumble into the warm night,

across the grass and wait

for the timed sheets of light

to count down and be gone.

Then I taste the blackness,

there are no shooting stars,

just this magnificent slow turn

of constellations I cannot name.

I am small but delighted to be alive.

That’s about it for this week. I think I may be posting an interview about a book of amazing aerial photographs on Tuesday. Finger’s crossed that the cd with the photographs reaches me in time.

Have a good week.