Balancing the world
A globe spanning issue in your weekly dose of fresh poetry #129
With one foot
planted in the East, the
other foot in the West, history
of travel and science
flows through me.
There was a time before we had maps, before there were reliable ways to navigate our planet. Europeans wanted to conquer (and plunder) the world, so mapping out the world was essential, but being able to geolocate yourself as well. There were many, crazy, experiments researching the best way to pinpoint a position on the globe. I could recommend reading either The Island of the Day Before or Longitude as books for those who want to learn more about this.
Anyway, even with maps and geolocation in your pocket, there is still much to discover on our planet. How other people live, seeing things you have never seen before, or being in touch with the history of science and travel while having one foot in the eastern, and the other in the western hemisphere at the prime meridian in Greenwich.
What do you like about travel?
Three ways to support this inbox poetry magazine.
The poetics of life
There’s something magical about certain dates. And sometimes, maybe even most times, that magic can be found in ordinary things. In the mundane. What if people all over the world showed us their magical mundane, on one magical date? That was the idea behind the One Day On Earth project. People around the world were asked to video-document their day on 10 October 2010, or 10.10.10. The result is a wonderful exploration of everyday lives as they happen on that one day across all timezone. Watch the trailer here below. If you want to watch the film, you can do so via the website. All you have to do is click a request button for a password, and you are good to explore the world.
Poetry elsewhere
What if you could have a telescope that lets you look into the future? Well, we don’t. But imagine what you would see. What would that future be? Punit Thakkar did just that and guess what? There’s a lovely poem in your future if you click below:
I live in a multilingual world. And it’s a fun place to be. I wish more people could join me here. Especially if it means you get to enjoy the work of Marta Gazzola. Her poems are sweepingly spiritual and little voyages into wonderful and pensive worlds. Her series Gedichte, in which she mixes poems with faces (in German that would be Gedichte & Gesichte) is magical. The latest poem, Zhenya, has an accompanying piece of AI art that shows how she works magic with this exciting new tool. Read, and look at, Zhenya. And collect it if you can.
Sometimes you meet someone and it’s like looking into the mirror at a better version of yourself. Someone you want to be. My friend Ashu is someone like that. He’s kind, and generous and writes poetry that, I am sure, helps others. His works are comforting, reassuring, loving, caring and beautiful. His latest poem, with AI artwork, can be collected on the Tezos blockchain via the objkt.com marketplace. The title is Turn Around.