Midnight Reads
* Mary Camille Beckman *
How do I soothe myself when I react, as if allergic, to my own need for sleep? Just calm down, I plead. My insomnia strides forward, unchecked.
Bob Hicok’s “Duh”
* Claire Skinner *
I’m lying on the bed reading Bob Hicok. Have you read him? He’s a loquacious, lively poet who takes me by the hand and says, “Let’s talk about French kissing and grammar and death in the span of a couple dozen lines, okay?”
“Remembering Stefania Wortman,” by Marcin Otto
* nonfiction by Marcin Otto, from Stefanie Wortman’s essay in MQR 53:3 Summer 2014 * In early 1940, several months into the Nazi occupation, Elektoralna found itself in the middle of a huge quarter called the Warsaw Ghetto, surrounded by a tall wall. Eleonora was Jewish but apparently she abandoned the flat with her children and stayed outside of the Ghetto, concealing their Jewish identities. In practice, it was a question of whether you looked Semitic and had the papers in order.
“Remembering Stefania Wortman,” by Marcin Otto Read More »
MQR 53:3 | Summer 2014
Jerry Dennis looks at the history of confining birds, Zhanna Slor comments on her family, Brenda Hood comments on hers, Stefanie Wortman discovers her namesake’s life in the Warsaw Ghetto and beyond, Mukund Belliappa explores the coolie experience in the former British Empire, Josh Lambert reviews books on the history of publishing.
Poetry by Rachel Morgenstern-Clarren, Kyle McCord, Alison Prine, Jack Ridl, Jennifer Sperry Steinorth, Elizabeth Schmuhl, Kara Van De Graaf, Cindy Veach, Sara Wallace.
Fiction by Dariel Suarez, Rachel Groves, Katherine L. Hester, Victoria Lancelotta.
MQR 53:3 | Summer 2014 Read More »
La Grande Percée: Modern Urbanism in Strasbourg, Pt. 1
* Jeremy Allan Hawkins *
At the turn of the twentieth century, the increasingly poor living conditions in central Strasbourg were the subject of study by municipal housing associations. Inspectors discovered buildings in advanced stages of dilapidation, often with large groups of people living in small single rooms with chronic humidity problems. Many residents lived in housing with no windows or direct light of any kind. Outside, the streets were narrow and dirty, spotted with dung heaps and all kinds of garbage. At the time, journalists and surveyors were openly referring to the old city center as resembling a cesspit or an open sewer. The city leaders decided a radical action would need to be taken to address the problem.
La Grande Percée: Modern Urbanism in Strasbourg, Pt. 1 Read More »
On Escapism
Detective stories appeal to the dream of resolution in which lurks the dreams of justice and salvation.
Into The Wind: An Interview with Jessica Fogel
How might the arts contribute to our perceptions of our evolving landscapes as we transition towards renewable energy sources? This is the question which Jessica Fogel, choreographer, Artistic Director, and Professor, has made central to Into The Wind, a dance and music performance that will be presented at the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) in Muskegon, Michigan on August 22nd and 23rd.
Into The Wind: An Interview with Jessica Fogel Read More »
First Films: Haifaa Al-Mansour’s “Wadjda”
* Eric McDowell *
More so than any of the other films I have considered over the course of this series, Haifaa Al-Mansour’s Wadjda (2012) is a film of firsts: not only is it Al-Mansour’s feature debut, but it’s also the first feature to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, the first feature directed by a female Saudi filmmaker, and Saudi Arabia’s first submission to the Oscars’ Best Foreign Language Film category.
First Films: Haifaa Al-Mansour’s “Wadjda” Read More »
Meeting Wittgenstein at the Playscape
* Airea D. Matthews *
Since Tractatus suggests that language mirrors states of affairs in which objects are engaged, questions arise: if the object is invisible, does the object even exist? What if the object is the Black body?
Meeting Wittgenstein at the Playscape Read More »
Selfies
* Oksana Lutsyshyna *
On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in Eastern Ukraine, downed by the Russian terrorist forces, referred to as “pro-Russian separatists” in western media. The questions my US friends asked me most after the crash of MH17 near the Ukrainian town of Torez were as follows: Who are the people casually going through the dead passengers’ luggage? Why are they taking selfies next to the parts of the plane?