August Week 3 – Colors of Collaboration.

Posted on 08/20/2015 by Stacy

Photographers can create a variety of abstract images via Photoshop techniques and the application of various apps.   But I still highly enjoy creating an abstract image in-camera with a single straight capture. And, believe me, there are all kinds of in-camera techniques that can enhance a shot, such as varying the depth-of-field, moving/zooming the camera at a slow shutter speed, doubling/multiplying exposures or over/underexposing, etc.

Aug wk 3 - Rust and Paint copyRust and layers of peeling paint are among my favorite abstract “canvases.”   I found lots to work with when I came across a dock worker power-washing huge metal dredging equipment in Crescent City along the northern coast of California.   The worker’s task was to de-slime the large trough-like metal beams and remove the barnacles from them.   At the same time, chipped-off layers of paint were sporadically revealing multiple colors underneath.

Aug wk 3 - Power wash copyWhose art is this anyway?   The power wash was leaving unintentional patterns that the dredging process in the Crescent City bay began.   But without a photographer and her eye, the shapes would never have been abstracted from the project. And what shapes they were, creating a cross between the work of Jackson Pollock and Picasso.   Perhaps this is collaborative art with the major contributors being the dredging equipment, the ocean, the power wash, the sea air and me!

Dancing Rabbit and Flying Dragon

Dancing Rabbit and Flying Dragon

I circled the six foot high, thirty foot long and four foot wide massive piece of steel seeing one abstract, distorted, mystical and playful image after another.   Some were just 6 inches by 4 inches while other pictures were measured in feet – a laughing rabbit in one spot and a dripping pink cloud in another.

It is amazing how everyday tasks present us with magical scenes. Through them we can connect to fantasies that can both entertain and teach us life-lessons.   Here are just a few images that did that for me.

Boat Detail and Reflection

Boat Detail and Reflection

Usually I think of my art as “my” art.   But perhaps in all that we do we are more enriched when we are producing something as a collaborative effort.   This is not a lesson that came easy or naturally to me in either my avocation or vocation.   But finally I am catching on to the wisdom of multiple voices, many hands and ideas from all over the map having great potential for both creativity and community empowerment.

Addressing and solving global warming, growing violence, human inequities, and water, carbon, energy and food security challenges — we cannot do this alone . A colossal team effort is needed from individuals, faith/spiritual communities, business, government and civil society to tackle the life-threatening concerns we all face. Given the sheer complexity and global nature of these issues, the response must be global, and, to be effective, it must happen at scale.

How we collaborate will have profound implications for how we live now and into the future!

 

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August Weeks 1 & 2 – Deeper wisdom in simple things.

Posted on 08/13/2015 by Stacy

While walking along a beach in southern Oregon, I noticed that, when the ocean receded she left beautiful sparkling treasures embedded in the freshly washed sand. I sauntered from one of  these treasures to another photographing the simple exquisiteness that each jelly, kelp leaf, strand of sea grass, shell and pebble left glittering at my feet. My only challenge was artfully framing each composition.

Aug wk 1 - Kelp 1 copyAs I walked the maze these beach jewels created on the shoreline, my mind bounced back and forth between a little story I was reading and my own absorption with the vastness of the sea’s water, the lack of it in our cities and farms, and the tension that creates between us.

Aug wk 1 - Harris Beach copy 2

Harris Beach, southern Oregon

In Willits, on my way to Newport, Oregon, I stopped at a used-book store. Having made a reservation at Humboldt Redwoods State Park Campground, I was heading to my first night along the Avenue of the Giants.   What looked like a little store from the outside turned out to be a maze of aisles and rooms and eight-foot high shelves.   I was rummage around for something light and short to read over the next few days. But, at the same time, I wanted to be able to pull some deeper meanings from the story for my personal enrichment.

There was rhyme and reason to the categories in that maze of books.   But it was dizzying trying to quickly find something that would enhance my coastal wanderings.   So I just grabbed a book with an interesting title and an impressionistic image of a woman on the cover. Most of all, I wanted a book written by a woman and thought I had one. What kind of first name is “Swain” anyway?

Aug wk 1 - Jelly copyThe Woman Who Lives in the Earth is a timeless story of a young girl who uses the hidden forms and patterns of the natural world to transform herself as well as her enemies. Swain Wolfe is a writer and filmmaker who has lived in Montana most of his life.  The Woman Who Lives in the Earth (Stone Creek Press, Montana) was his first novel.

Aug wk 1 - Kelp 2 copyThis tale about overcoming fear and hatred takes place in a time either before modern machines or long after their fall. In a harsh, primitive world, an almond-eyed girl named Sarah and her family is threatened by a severe drought. Sarah’s wisdom-filled imagination and her fascination with the mysteries of nature lead the local villagers to believe she is an evil demon and the cause of the drought.

Aug wk 1 - Beach copy

South Beach SP at Newport, Oregon

In her attempt to save herself and her family, Sarah is aided by her great-grandmother Lilly, and by a spirit whose voice is made known through a fox that only she is able to see. Sarah discovers her own power and redemption, and, in the end, her spirit flows in and through the villagers, transforming their hatred into the kindness they all once possessed.   Through Sarah’s actions and her incantations to the woman who lives in the earth, the rains return to the parched land and the dried-up compassion of the people is renewed.

Through the beautiful jewels of kelp, pebbles and jellies embedded in the inter-tidal pools and shoreline sands may you be transformed.

Aug wk 1 - Rock copyJoin me in this simple chant: “I am so blessed, I am so blessed, I am so grateful for all that I am.”

  • Seek wisdom’s whisper
  • as She etches the mysteries of her heart
  • into the soft embracing sand.
  • Waters rippling from the ocean’s womb
  • Mother of All Creation, stirs in us
  • new creative powers for healing.
  • Like tear-shaped stones embedded
  • by the powers of her laughing love
  • she shapes us with warmth and joy.

Remember to keep it simple – images, words, dreams and walks along the beach. Blessed be!

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July Week 5 – Follow the LIGHT

Posted on 07/30/2015 by Stacy

Photography (drawing/imaging with light) is my avocation/passion and a form of “visual” spirituality!  First light from the east and fog from the west dance over San Francisco!

July wk 4 - Fog copy

Without light or various applications and uses of light I would not be able to create images or even produce record shots. Conscious of this, I recall one of my favorite quotes: “Whoever follows the light will always have the light of life.”   -Jesus/Mary Magdalene.

Can you imagine trying to walk along a path on a dark night with no light to guide you?   No moon, no stars, no streetlight, not even a flashlight?   Wisdom is a light to help us find our way in life – a life where God/dess finds her way to us, to embrace us with unconditional love and compassion, and then move us towards justice. As we strive to follow the way of compassion, repairing the web of life, we too become “light for the world.”

Stars added in post processing to Havana's fortress

Stars added to Havana’s Morro fortress and lighthouse

We were recently reminded that even this beautiful and liberating metaphor of light can be turned upside down.   A Texas trooper threatened Sandra Bland with a taser when he ordered her out of her car during a traffic stop.   The officer’s car video captured him telling her he would “light her up” if she didn’t get out of the vehicle.

Three days after this incident and her arrest, Sandra Bland was found hung to death in her county jail cell.   Even if she committed suicide, it sounds like that action was a direct result of police bullying.   There are many questions about this case being raised across the country and world.   Although there is nothing good in this episode or what has thus far been the end result, we pray that the deep need for reform to our policing systems and domination/ racist structures might be exposed and that we might make some progress toward the ideal of equal justice for all.

I dedicate this week’s images to the spirit and life of Sandra Bland. “Whoever follows the light will always have the light of life.”   -Jesus/Mary Magdalene

July wk 4 - Sunset copyIn photography, light is needed to create images!    The Dahlia Garden next to the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park peaks in beauty from mid-July to mid-September.   Since 1920, this area has been dedicated to the dahlia, the official San Francisco Flower.

Although these beautiful flowers are photogenic in all kinds of weather, I prefer a calm foggy day.  It is then that the colors really pop! The sunshine will bring out the butterflies, but it can give you a garish light and, just as bad, bright “hot spots” in your background. (The first light of day, however, can be less harsh as it begins to peek through the trees).

shallow depth of field make background Dahlias soft balls

Shallow depth-of-field makes background Dahlias soft balls (f/5.6 with 400mm)

The dahlia originated in Mexico and was used by the Aztecs for medicine and religious ornamentation, and the tubers were used as food for the animals.  The genetic makeup of the dahlia has an uncanny ability to cross-breed into many varieties. Some dahlias are as small as a quarter and some as large as beach balls.  There is even a dahlia that looks like my morning hairdo.

Most mornings you can meet the overseers who donate all of the tubers for their particular area. As you might expect, they are proud of their award-winning gardening.  The California Dahlia Society is a guiding light that helps us get acquainted with the garden and the growing process as well as providing a variety of programs, shows and a plethora of information to the public. Volunteers help plant, dis-bud, de-leaf, water, deadhead, and dig out approximately 500 clumps of dahlias. The garden right now is awash in color, shapes and fragrances.   In whatever light you view it, you are sure to come away with a blessing or two!

The Dahlia Competition and Show is August 15 at the Hall of Flowers in Golden Gate Park at 9th and Lincoln .

 

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July – Texts and Textures with Life

Posted on 07/24/2015 by Stacy

Photographing textures allows us to transform an ordinary object into something visually stunning.   I especially love to work with subjects that might not in themselves be considered beautiful, artistic or unique. There’s an advantage in this — textures can be found all over our urban and natural environments, and they don’t require the acquisition of special props.

  • July - BoltWood USETextures of life
  • are all around us
  • scratching and smoothing
  • pushing and pulling
  • Reminding us of pasts
  • we ought not forget
  • even those embroiled
  • in pain and horror
  • Once soft curves
  • now hardened and crusty
  • once straight lines
  • now blurred and crooked
  • Old phases of strength
  • turn to prophetic wrinkles
  • re-visioned as conduits  
  • to textures with life.

July 1 - nets copyNot every texture makes a good photograph, but, with time and practice, you will develop an eye for what works. To capture texture effectively in a photograph, you need to accentuate surface crinkles, waves, and folds, or lack of them. There are four major factors that strongly present texture: details, patterns, color and depth. All contribute equally to making an image rather sensual.

When all of these elements come together just right, the result can be quite spectacular, even if the subject is a rusting bolt surrounded by rotting wood or the weave of a fishing net stretched out in a parking lot.

Captivating textures are all around us – on a simple wooden ledge, surfaces of silverware, fallen leaves under your neighbor’s tree, dry-docked boats in disrepair, or even the wrinkled face of an elder.

A little hint: The worst thing to do when trying to photograph textures is to use your on-camera flash. Light from the on-camera flash is very harsh, and, since it also comes at the same angle as that of the lens, the image will be rendered as flat and devoid of colors.

July - rusty lock copyI like to think of our personal stories as textures in our biographies.   Perhaps that is where my mind drifts when I see details in a disintegrating pier or the peeling paint on the bottom of a boat – I am wondering how varied events over the years shaped this object’s present state – and my life as well.

Finally, remember that many texture images work well when they appear to expand beyond the edges of the photograph.

Give it a try with your smart phone or DSLR, and remind yourself to keep the composition simple by repositioning anything that may break the pattern or interrupt the rhythm of the final image.

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June week 3 – sacred amusement, mystery and marvel!

Posted on 06/17/2015 by Stacy

June wk 3 SacWindows2 copyRecently, while visiting Sacramento, I became aware of the abstract patterns reflected in the windows of the downtown area. They were incredibly beautiful. As I began to photograph these images, I found myself composing what appeared to be paintings. My initial window-encounters turned into an excitement and a passion for exploring more opportunities to capture this colorful intangible art.

Often, mirrored images are distorted by uneven glass or fragmented reflective surfaces. I experimented with these distortions in the early morning light. I found that even the slightest changes in position would drastically alter the appearance of a reflection.

June wk 3 SacWindows3 copyI moved around to see how a pattern would develop. Taking this one step further, I found it possible to entirely abstract the appearance of a reflected subject from its original form. Reflected images which are carefully composed and framed can become art-forms in their own right.

Then I started to connect to the way metal and glass seem to represent the tension between elements in modern architecture. The metal framework demands conformity, but the glass reflections explode in defiance of this structure and, in the end, seem to transcend their captors.

Reflections are everywhere: in glass windows, pools of water, highly polished cars, metal sculptures, even somebody’s sunglasses and eyeball. Once you start looking for them you can find reflections of one kind or another everywhere around you. The reflections remold reality and help us enter into new shapes, colors, structures, and even a reformed world.

June wk 3 SacWindows 1 copyReality is often distorted through the lens of our personal experiences. Interpreting those experiences is like the light on a window which often deforms and reshapes the objects it is reflecting. May these images help you revision ordinary objects (concrete or metaphysical) that you encounter each day so that you find within them sacred amusement, mystery and marvel!

 

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June Week 1 – Don’t forget to look at the big trees!

Posted on 06/08/2015 by Stacy

June wk 1 - Redwood WebI had just finished walking to “The Big Tree” from the campground at Prairie Creek State Park.   It was an easy hike, 3.75 miles round trip through some of the tallest and most beautiful redwoods.   Outside the now-closed visitor’s center, a young woman with a few brochures in her hands approached me. With a look of frustration on her face she asked, “Is there anything to do here besides walk around and look at trees?”

I tried not to chuckle while allowing only my rolling eyes to be my laughter. I responded: “Basically that is what people from all over the world come here to do.   But, if you want to see something else, there are a few herds of Roosevelt elk around the park – and lots of banana slugs once you start looking for them.”   As I suspected, that was not quite what she was looking for.

“Oh yes,” I continued, “that sound that you are hearing is a Murrelet, which is an ocean bird that flies here to nest way up in the top of these redwoods.   They need lots of ocean to take off, running for quite a while on top of the water before becoming airborne.   Here they find the tallest tree so when they leave the nest they just drop out hoping to get up enough flapping speed before they hit the ground.”

June wk 1 - ElkBoxing webThe young woman didn’t seem very impressed although she perked up when I said the word “ocean.”   So I explained how to get to Gold Bluffs Beach and that there were other accessible beaches on the way to Crescent City. Then I added, “And just 18 miles north at Klamath you will find a Casino.” She finally smiled.

I continued, “Down the road you might see the newborn elk calf,” but before I could give her the directions she was already heading out.   “Don’t forget to look at the trees,” I yelled after her, “that is what most people come to see.”  And no wonder: the Redwood National and State Parks encompass 106,000 acres of forest, prairies and coastal lands.

Many of the people in the campground were returning from their hikes of 10 – 15 miles.   But I was proud of my 3.75 miles that day because I also took the time to look at the trees.   Old growth redwoods have been growing here before recorded history.   Awesome!   Plants and animals have established intricate communities among the redwoods and formed interdependent relationships with the trees.

Fallen Rhododendron Blossom and Reflection

Fallen Rhododendron Blossom and Reflection

Even the snails and slugs are important.   They are the decomposers who dispose of everything from bear poop to fallen limbs.   Without them the forest would become one impassible heap of forest debris.

I didn’t get a chance to tell the young woman that Prairie Creek Redwood State Park has it all — roaming elk, towering redwoods, banana slugs, blooming Rhododendrons, fern-lined canyons and beaches galore.   Maybe, instead of trying to find something to do, we need to simply stop and look and wonder.

(Don’t tell anyone – I go to the North Coast first of all for the smoked  salmon!)

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May week 4 – Power in our spiritual essence

Posted on 05/22/2015 by Stacy

There seems to be ample fish in Golden Gate Park’s Stow Lake for the Blue Heron parents who are feeding their young, now just days away from fledging.   Both parents feed the young, regurgitating their catch into the waiting bills. The young are capable of flight at about 60 days and depart the nest between 65-90 days.

May 4 - GB Heron HeadSince the Double Crested Cormorants are competing for Stow’s fish, Great Blue Herons are resorting to their other favorite prey: rodents and gophers.   Most often, Great Blues forage by standing still or walking very slowly in shallow water waiting for fish to swim near, then striking with a rapid thrust of their bill. They use this same ritual-like dance in fields as they patiently ferret out the little critters just below the surface of the ground.

May 4 - GB Heron treeOften mistakenly called a “crane,” the Great Blue is the largest heron in North America. You might spot one of these magnificent birds, four feet tall, standing silently along inland rivers or lakeshores or flying high overhead with slow wingbeats, its head hunched back onto its shoulders.   It thrives around all kinds of waters from subtropical mangrove swamps and desert rivers to the coastline of southern Alaska.

The Great Blue is a symbol, guide and metaphor for self-reflection.   If it has flown into our lives today via Native American medicine cards or by literally crossing our path she is urging us to dive deeply into the “watery world of feelings to seek our truth” (Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams, p. 217). In Native American wisdom, the term “medicine” refers to anything that strengthens our connection to the Great Mystery and to all life.

Our brother and sister creatures relay through their life patterns messages of healing and empowerment.   “Heron’s medicine shows us how to meet the challenges of our personal weaknesses and how to continue developing the skills that lead to inner strength and certainty of purpose” (ibid.).   After stillness and silence, like the Great Blue, we can dive into our own feelings and life to discover the power in our spiritual essence.

May 4 -GBHeron StowAs I walked towards the DeYoung Museum a Great Blue walked in front of me less than 5 feet away.   She stopped, arched her neck, and then, with a quick extension of her neck, thrust her beak into the grassy ground.   I could hear the sound of her beak as it passed though the firm soil.   Retracting her neck she pulled out a small gopher.   Boo-hoo, no camera in hand!

Herons represent self – reliance, stability, tactfulness and careful forethought. Like the Great Blue you may achieve much success through your persistent efforts. Alternatively, dreaming of a heron could signify your willingness to explore and delve into your subconscious.

So I am supplying these Great Blue Heron images for your viewing to inspire that kind of exploration.

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May – week 3: The fullness of joy!

Posted on 05/13/2015 by Stacy

May 3 - Calla Lily copyOne of my favorite mystics is Julian of Norwich (England) who lived from 1343 to 1416. Although voluntarily confined to a small, cell-like room called an “anchorage” in the courtyard of the church from which she took her name, she had immense freedom and was highly sought after for her wisdom. She reformed and re-visioned Christian doctrine into a universalism that focused on the goodness of both God/dess and humans.

Julian was the first known English-language woman author, someone who thought and wrote with a creativity that took her beyond the accepted teachings of her day.  Despite that, her teachings were never disputed or retracted. We recently celebrated her feast day, May 8th, so she has been particularly on my mind.

May 3 - Calla Lily Abstract 2 copyJulian of Norwich saw the Savior as our true mother “in whom we are endlessly born and out of whom we shall never come.” She promoted the concept of “oneing” through her writings and visions. For her, there was no distance between the human soul and the Divine Presence. She wrote: “…all humans are oned, and one person is all people and all people are one person.” (Showings 51).

I don’t think there are any flowers assigned to or associated with Julian of Norwich, but I tend to think the essence of the Calla Lily serves her well.   She taught that the fullness of joy is to behold Goddess in everything.

May 3 - Calla Lily 3 copyCalla lilies are not real lilies. They grow from bulbous roots, “tubers” we call them, with finger-like growths. These beautiful flowers originated in Africa and grow mostly in marshy areas. Locally you can see them throughout Golden Gate Park with a special concentration around Stow Lake. Although their official blooming time is late spring you can find them here beginning in winter with some still blooming into late summer.

The word calla comes from the Greek term for beautiful. Because of their unique shape every image created with the calla lily seems to capture the very essence of what we call “Beauty.”   This is why I equate the flower with the writings and wisdom of Julian of Norwich.

May 3 - calla Lily Abstract 3 copyMother Sophia, Sister Julian,
unfurling Wisdom from stalk to petal,
Calla Lily of our soul.

You promise to unwrap your compassion
from our inner to outer light.
Your beauty and love are all we need desire.

Your passion and power are planted
in our vulnerability, sparking our oneing
in which we find impetus and strength
to grow into our full humanity,
interlaced with sacred story.

May 3 - Calla Lily 2 copyBless us for the journey as your spirit
wells up in us from the center
of the earth, your body, our womb.

Maiden, Mother, Crone.
Blessed Be.

Prayer & images © Rev. Stacy Boorn

“All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”  – Julian of Norwich

 

 

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Cuba – using any element at hand: MUSIC and Dance.

Posted on 03/10/2015 by Stacy

Cuba 4 - drummer 08 copyLaughing voices and tapping shoes were heard as we entered a crammed and stifling rehearsal space in the middle of Havana. Drumming lessons were underway. Maestro Eduardo Córdova was instructing girls and young women in African beats that historically belonged to male musicians and tribal leaders.

Although the school is privately funded, it seemed to carry the spirit of the original Cuban revolutionary plan of providing access to all things for all people. A colorful set design back-dropped a well-worn dance floor where a dozen young women put their own stamp on contemporary dance. Ancient goddesses carved into the drums seemed to find spirit in the young women at the Habana Compas (“Rhythm Beat”) Dance School as they rambunctiously applied percussion sticks to the backs, sides, seats and legs of colorfully painted wooden chairs.

Cuba 4 -Drummer 05 copyThe company Habana Compás Dance was founded in 2004. It is directed by the dancer and choreographer Liliet Rivera Puentes who has performed in the renowned dancehalls of Cuba, the United States, Spain and Venezuela. HCD is currently composed of 12 female dancers and 4 musicians.   The artistic style of the company merges the soul of the Spanish dances with the heart of Afro-Cuban rhythms and contemporary dance. The women not only dance, but also create sounds, using any element at hand: castanets, heels, wood slippers, claves, drumsticks, chequerés, and of course, the percussive chairs.

Boys singing in Cienfuegos

Boys singing in Cienfuegos

Even in hard times the one thing that remains consistent for Cubans is their attachment to and love of music. It seems that in Cuba anything can become a musical instrument. With a tire rim, a gourd, a rickety old wooden chair, or the skeletal jawbone of a horse any one can beat out the songs attuned to the heart of the people. Ancient drums and bongos, claves and guiros, guitars and bass, the human voice or a whole orchestra are important links to the psyche and history of Cuba. At home, music is inseparable from Cuba’s daily life and history.

Rhythmically rattling a horse jaw bone – Fiesta Campesina

Rhythmically rattling a horse jaw bone – Fiesta Campesina

I experienced this myself in restaurants and on street corners. From the driver seats of old Chevys and in the doorways of practically every household comes the “son and the salsa.” These are the combinations of Spanish melodies and African rhythm on which Cuban music and its accompanying dance have taken root. One can hardly keep from clapping or swaying even if, like me, you have two left feet!

The Rumba is the African-Cuban music which carried the voice of rebellion against slavery and segregation, and, today, it is the music to which modern day folks dance and let loose! Rumba developed in the Cuban provinces of Havana and Matanzas (one hour east of Havana) in the late 19th century, as a blending of Congolese-derived drumming styles and Spanish flamenco-singing influences. Rumba was often suppressed and restricted because it was viewed as sexually charged and therefore dangerous and lewd. But the Rumba is still danced in Havana. The island has produced dance music that has traveled all over the world.

Shall we keep the song going, singing and dancing and drumming from the depth of our beings? GRACIAS, Cuba!

Capitolio in Havana is a facsimile of Washington DC

Capitolio in Havana is a facsimile of Washington DC

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Cuba – Character with a smile and a wink! (or wrinkle)

Posted on 02/28/2015 by Stacy

Cuba 3 - Woman Doorway copyWhen I look in the mirror and notice a new line in my face, my heart, unfortunately, does not leap for joy. Those lines remind me that the years of my life are rushing by.

But when I’m photographing people, especially in a faraway place, every face line becomes an artistic road-map that speaks of personal stories and cultural history.

At the very least, those lines provide more “character” to the photographic capture.

It may not be true of every one of the 11.5 million Cubans who inhabit their island, but it seemed to be pretty universal among the people that I met in January – they have time on their hands.

Cuba 3 - Cigar Smoker 01 copyI observed that they took time to converse with one another; they took time to inspect the small piles of tomatoes as they chose the ones which they would purchase; they took time to sit with children and elders on their doorsteps in the evening; and they took time to pose for me and the other photographers with whom I traveled. Time — they demonstrated that they had plenty of it and wanted to share the joy and the essence of it with others.

Most accessible for portrait photography and outwardly jovial were the older men in their tattered-edged brim hats seemingly held up by long face lines. They often were smoking cigars or just holding them in their mouths so they could have them for a longer period of time as they modeled for those passing by. Their smiles and winks didn’t reveal so much about their past history as of their present state of being.

Cuba 3 - Tobacco Farmer copyThe revolution of 1959 gave peasants and workers’ children the opportunity through education to become writers and artists with a broad range of knowledge. Because the whole population was now reading, the people were gaining new connections to their own culture.  But the direction and restrictions that came with Cuba’s later dependence on Russia seemed to lead again to some cultural repression.

In the 1980’s Cuba lost its financial help from the USSR and plummeted into poverty. This continues to be a challenge for Cuba. Without losing heart and the revolutionary spirit, Cuba seems to be reclaiming its unique ability to meld the arts and culture in a way that may be more profound than it has ever been.

Cuba 3 - Man Hat 07 copyCubans seem always ready to find reasons to smile and take the time to enjoy what is at hand, including the tourist industry which may support the next wave of financial redevelopment and the repair of the infrastructure.

Because you can’t read everything in a person’s face lines, I have been enjoying “The Cuban Reader,” which is chock-full of diverse points of view. It offers an impressive overview of Cuban experiences both past and present. Most of the 2 to 8 page articles are by Cubans, but the book also contains viewpoints of some within the U.S State Department and even of exiled persons. In Cuban style the book includes poetry, imagery/photos, the lyrics of music, memoirs of health care workers and revolutionaries, historical chronologies and luscious literary selections. See www.dukepress.edu

You can’t read everything in a person’s face lines, or can you?

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