Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 3:08
CREATIVE ALCHEMY - we are all in the mix. Let’s talk about words, poetry, sound, music with Elana Bell
Alana, I want to talk about your love of sound and of words and of poetry. What affects what are you hearing words first and then they form sounds in you and then they come out as poetry? Or is it a different process? Not that process is always the same, but let's just talk about sound and music and words and the dance they have and how it's brought you to your passion, which is folding those into one big experience. Really looking forward to hearing your voice
I think that this sums up in my mind I could just sum this up the first few lines is something that I try to say and I try to tell people all the time that it still takes a village. It still takes a village and it just really hit me when you had read where she wrote that there is a burning village somewhere and this is just paraphrasing even if you don't look at the next village, if it's not your own, it's still your village
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:36
Ah Keesha. Thank you for saying that. I felt the same way when I read it. It just was so crystal clear how we're wired for community and we just get unplugged sometimes because we think we are autonomous and I don't know, just these islands, but poems like this bring us back in. And just hearing your voice, I had it to just say thank you because I'm with you and I can't wait to have more time with her poetry
Elana Bell
@elana_bell · 2:51
You. Hi, Deborah. Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of this. And I loved your reading of your village, of that poem. You know, you asked me sort of about the relationship between sound and words and how they all come together. And you said the process is really different depending on the piece
Elana Bell
@elana_bell · 1:24
But as Mother Teresa said, we all belong to each other. And many people have said this, right? Unless everyone is free, no one is free, and all kinds of variations on that. It can be hard to remember that in our day to day and when we're living in our own little communities, but yeah, I think it's really true. So I appreciate you sharing about the impact and your own messages that you give to the people that you are in community with
I think that it was because they were separated from it, not me physically, because they were still around me, but they had already just tuned it out and put the blinders on. And I don't know if what I'm feeling and what your intentions were or what your meaning is with what you said, but that's what I'm feeling right now, and it just really touched me. And I just wanted to reply again because sorry if I get emotional
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:04
Alana. That's such a great story, the way it evolved. I always love these kinds of stories. I have this hope that you will use your swell cast to share episodes that include the invitation to listen, to sound carefully, since this is a sound app. And then conjure up some kind of experience, a creative expression, because I think that would materialize really well or make it more tangible for us. So that's something I'd love you to do in the future
Elana Bell
@elana_bell · 2:47
What else to call the way the bare branches I'd bought at the neighborhood bodega came back to life that winter, I'd carried them home dry, wrapped in paper, stuck them in a square vase, and as an afterthought, filled it with water. I don't know when I noticed the pale pink shoots sprouting from the submerged ends, wild reaching roots like ginseng, or the hair on an old woman's chin
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:23
I'm so glad that you kept right on drinking. What a beautiful poem. What a powerful image you create with that. Just the idea of water being the base of everything, of plants, of people and it being brought to you by those who loved you. And the metaphor of water. Oh, my God. Just fantastic. I am so grateful
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 0:05
Hey, that was sound, but not words. Just checking in to see if you knew that. Looking forward
Khalid Hanif
@theElvnth_Our · 0:44
You. Hello. I wanted to take a moment to stop in and tell you how amazing and enriching this conversation and examination of this magnificent poetry was. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's a wonderful thing to listen to. Very absorbing and being just. Brilliant writing, brilliant humanity. Thank you. Thank you so much. It was an amazing listen. Every aspect throughout this thread. Yeah, simply superb
Khalid Hanif
@theElvnth_Our · 0:39
Ahead. Hey, Deborah, it's Khalid. Thanks for letting me know. I was able to do a tape, too, but I just want to reiterate, it was a beautiful, beautiful, thread conversation, just so enriching. And it's just a level of motivation and a empathy that were in the words and the back and forth and the brilliant poet and your interpretation of her poetry, absolutely sublime. So thank you
Elana Bell
@elana_bell · 0:25
Hey, Khalid. This is Elana, and I just wanted to express my gratitude for your kind words about the poems and, of course, the conversation that Deborah led around them. Super honored to be here and super grateful for your feedback and engagement. So thank you so much and look forward to continued conversations
Geetika Kaushal
@Gkaushal6 · 1:35
You. Hey, thanks for sharing this piece of poem. And it just touched my heart. And you have given it a beautiful voice. And I was, you know, about to imagine it once you started. And then I was expecting more. I was like, that's it. I wanted to hear what happened next. So hey, here. I've shared one of my sketches, and just a random one, so my passion was sketching
Elana Bell
@elana_bell · 0:46
Hello. Thank you so much for your beautiful reflection and also for sharing about your own passion for sketching and how it really supports you when you're feeling down or low. Having a passion is definitely a healing balm. I know for me, when I'm feeling down, going and or going for a walk in nature or swimming are some of the ways that I support myself. But it really feels, in hearing your reflection, like the sense of connection for having an artistic passion
Elana Bell
@elana_bell · 0:44
Thank you, makita, for your words, for this reflection about the importance of village, of staying connected. I think, yeah. It can feel so alone when we're separated from our village, whether that's literal or figurative. And it's just really beautiful to feel connected to you even through this platform and your reflections and your passion for community, for connection, and just really appreciate your voice and your perspective and your reflection. So thank you