Today we have scoured the news to bring you a news roundup that takes a look at a poet”s home that is in danger of falling into a river due to adverse weather, Blakefest – a celebration of the poet William Blake, and a play that looks at an imaginary encounter between two great artists.
Poets Home in Danger as Embankment Collapses
Due to the rapidly increasing levels of river water, the embankment built on the banks of the Padma River in the Kalua region have been eroding since Monday.
Locals claim that the embankment which was built to provide protection to a Kuthi Bari (bungalow) that was once the residence of Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate poet, which were only built 2 months ago have been collapsing due to poor levels of construction.
In total the embankment stretch that was funded by the government stretched 3720 meters and didn’t use all of the 1,300,000 blocks that had been made for the purpose – 250,000 remain unused. The rapidly rising river was able to destroy a 50-meter stretch of the embankment in just minutes, endangering the bungalow in the process. Sandbags have been put in place which discussions take place to decide what needs to be done next to prevent further damage occurring.
Blakefest
The 14thto 16thSeptember will see the celebration of Blakefest – a celebration of the life and legacy of the poet William Blake– which will take place in Chichester.
The idea behind the celebration is to explore the links that the poet had with the local area, in particular, Felpham and Bognor Regis, in a way that brings both arts and culture together.
The acts who will be attending Blakefest include the post-punk popstar Lene Lovich, and a 10-piece orchestra “All things must pass” who play many pieces by the late George Harrison of The Beatles fame. In addition to the musical acts, there will, of course, be plenty of poetry.
An Encounter Between Two Icons of Contemporary Art
As part of DESTINOS – the 2ndChicago International Latino Theater Festival the American Writers Museum and the Poetry Foundation will be presenting Musas.
Musas, or muses, is an encounter between Sylvia Plath, the American poet, and Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter. The encounter dramatizes a fictional encounter between the two artists even though they never met. This is an intense drama filled with important moments in the lives of both artists, the dialogue is rich and offers the audience a real insight into both their characters
The show is only on for three nights but it promises to be a very interesting piece of theatre that both organisations involved in its creation are very excited about. This is a chance for people to get to know more about both artists, both of whom left a valuable legacy behind when they passed away. Both Plath and Kahlo died young and it can only be imagined what more of a legacy they might have left if they had lived longer.
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