Lapis Magazine

Archive for 'Arts & Poetry'

Robert Bly Reads St. John of the Cross

From ted.com: Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) on Nurturing Creativity

An Interview with Jerry Wennstrom on His Life, His Art and Transformation

In 1979, Jerry Wennstrom, a rising star in the New York art world, intentionally destroyed his paintings and gave away his possessions and money. He spent well over the next decade wandering, seeking, and listening, relying only on his own intuition and an unconditional trust in the Universe to provide for him. In consciously emptying [...]

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A 1996 Interview with Frederick Franck on Art, His Life and His Work

A decade ago Issue One of Lapis Magazine featured this interview with Open Center faculty member Frederick Franck. We publish it a second time to mark the passing of this inspired and inspiring friend.
[Edited Version]

The following interview was first published by Lapis in 1996. We bring it to you a second time to [...]

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The Nature of Beauty in Contemporary Art by Suzi Gablik

If much of the contemporary art scene is a suburb of hell dominated by money, prestige, and power, what might replace it?
Suzi Gablik is an artist, writer and teacher whose books include Has Modernism Failed? and The Re-enchantment of Art. The following article is from a symposium on The Nature of Beauty in Contemporary [...]

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In the Rift by Robert Bly

A poem.
Robert Bly, winner of the National Book Award for poetry, is the author of many books, including The Soul Is Here for Its Own Joy, The Sibling Society, Iron John and, with Marion Woodman,The Maiden King.
There were a thousand sheep admiring the Milky Way.
Birds start singing when the branch reddens.
But we usually write poems when [...]

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Reminders: A Poem by William Stafford

Before dawn, across the whole road
as I pass I feel spiderwebs.
Within people’s voices, under their words or
woven into the pauses, I hear a hidden sound.

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Looking at Stars by Robert Bly

A poem.
I still think about the shepherds, how many stars
They saw. We owe our love of God to these sheep
That had to be followed, or companioned, all night.
What else could we do? You can’t let them run.
Sometimes people like you and me took over
At midnight, after the stars had already become
Huge talkers. That’s how we [...]