|
an art of connections, a poetics of the swerve
a new essay & reading by L. Martina Young, Ph.D. |
Arabesque
Saturday, October 11, 2025 | 2pm
with Live Music by bassist Julie Machado of the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra
|
Artist-scholar L. Martina Young offers a timely response to poet and Humanities scholar Joan Retallack's question, “How can one frame a poetics of the swerve, a constructive preoccupation with what are unpredictable forms of change?” Young’s newest essay explores the concept of the ‘arabesque’ by drawing on its origins in Persian aesthetics, somatic ways of knowing, Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology, and David Bohm's physics. Weaving together these diverse fields with elements of poetry and memoir, Young’s essay delves into the wisdom and beauty of ‘unity.’ This exploration frames a 'poetics of the swerve,' addressing the unpredictable nature of change and its relevance to our contemporary socio-cultural landscape, positing ‘unity’ as a critical ethos for the 21st century.
No Late Seating |
Photography by Grant Wesley
|
A poetic body is expressive by nature, an integrated
relational intelligence — transparent, porous — yielding insights about being human throughout the lifespan that are as specific and particular as they are universal. A poetic body practice is a disciplined realignment of our physical, psychological, biological, ethical, aesthetic, and spiritual modes of being for living responsively and meaningfully in the world. L. Martina Young, Ph.D. Artist Somatic Pilates Educator Expressive Dance/Movement Facilitator |
