LINES OF THE DAY

". . . But the past does not exist independently from the present. Indeed, the past is only past because there is a present, just as I can point to something over there only because I am here. But nothing is inherently over there or here. In that sense, the past has no content. The past -- or more accurately, pastness -- is a position. Thus, in no way can we identify the past as past." p. 15

". . . But we may want to keep in mind that deeds and words are not as distinguishable as often we presume. History does not belong only to its narrators, professional or amateur. While some of us debate what history is or was, others take it into their own hands." p. 153

Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (1995) by Michel-Rolph Trouillot

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Joy Harjo Tribute

Harjo's presence and her work were as much a part of my interior landscape in the years I lived in New Mexico as were the many breathtakingly beautiful and often deadly and brutal landscapes of the region itself. It's a signature of where my work in history has taken me, perhaps, with such a concentration on the matters of slavery and the lead up to the Civil War era, that Joy Harjo hasn't crossed my mind in quite a while. Therefore I'm most grateful to the Racialicious blog for putting her front and center today, here.

There are videos. But best of all, there's an excerpt from and a link to the full poem of Harjo's "She Had Some Horses," a poem that continues to have more meaning for me -- and surely many others -- as I journey through the variety of phases that living a life is. As Racialicious warns, it may trigger some because there are images of sexual violence in this poem.

No comments: