art ~ spirit ~ transformation
e*lix*ir

e*lix*ir   #16
Twin Birthdays 2023
Poetry
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Editorial

The Art of a Loving Correspondence

The Writing Life

Trust in Poetry by Tami Haaland

Features

The Beautiful Foolishness of Things, A collaborative work by poet Sandra Lynn Hutchison, composer Margaret Henderson, and painter Inger Gregory
Writing Music for The Beautiful Foolishness of Things, by Margaret Henderson

Poetry

Heather Anne Hutchison
Victor Kulkosky
Linette Kuy

Essays

The Art of Losing by Victor Kulkosky
Yearning for Water: The Story of a Traveling Quilt by Bradford Miller

Personal Reflections on Bahá’í Texts

Fire and Paradise by James Andrews

Letters

Dreaming of a Better Iran: A Letter to Our Fellow Citizens by a Few Bahá’í Students

Translations

“I Want to Walk With You” translated by Bashir Sayyah

Comics

Ruhi & Riaz by Eira

Voices of Iran

Keeping the Eternal Garden by Maryam Afzal and Saam Mozafari
Mrs. Mansouri’s Mission
Nothing but the Sanctity of the Desert
Five Days

Interviews

Art and the Creative Process: An Interview with Hooper C. Dunbar by Nancy Lee Harper
An Interview with Erfan Hosseini, Santur Player by Mehrsa Mastoori

Arts

Paintings by Hooper C. Dunbar

State of the Art

Books for Children by Allison Grover Khoury

Looking Back on Books

Forty-eight Fragments by Imelda Maguire
The Divine Melody: Song of the Mystic Dove by Lorraine Hétu Manifold
Walking to Martha’s Vineyard by Franz Wright
Soul of the Maine House by Bradford Miller

Films

‘Abdu’l-Bahá in France by Perry Productions


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Ann Sheppard

LINETTE KUY

Snowbound

I will learn to write
as I have learned to ski—
facing fears,
enjoying the motion,
finding my rhythm
practicing form,
using my senses
to navigate terrain.

I will focus on this moment,
on the imperfect turn,
the next word choice.
Clean lines seam the snow,
create space for my storyline.

I long to write as I have learned
to love, through tears mingled
with laughter as I lie
in the snowbound ordinary
moments of my life.

I want a craft that will swell
my heart, make my poem
cry out — a fervent prayer,
a plea for mercy,
as night begins to fall
and I make my last run.

Once I learn to ski,
I will write about my love
when I long for his lips,
I will write about myself
as I disappear into the mirror,
I will write about my creator
and grow humble.

May words be my light,
beckon me to cross
with care, reveal
the sheen truth leaves
on every white space.


Bio:   Linette Kuy worked for decades as a hospital nurse, then as a legal nurse analyst. She now serves as a clinical administrator in outpatient surgery. Entrusted with caring for the needs of others with compassion, Linette draws on her Bahá’í values and inspiration from her interfaith studies in her work. She is passionate about family life, perennial gardening, and travel for the purpose of learning about other cultures. On the home front, Linette promotes multicultural education through her work on the Council for Cincinnati World Affairs. Linette seeks to translate personal growth into social action and views poetry as a springboard for ‘sacred work’ to be accomplished.