Loading Video . . . In this arresting piece, the voice of Marlanda Dekine's poem challenges our patterns of oppression in echo of Proverbs 31:3. Today, without ongoing self-examination, we all—both white and of color—easily perpetuate the ongoing oppression of others. We have to understand that our current racial chasm is not an accident. Proverbs 3:31 Know Thyself By Marlanda Dekine Credits: Curated by: Lauren Ferebee 2016 Poetry Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link The Book of Proverbs has spoken to me throughout my life in many different ways. However, while sifting through its wisdom and being mindful of my personal gifts and my work, it was clear to me that illuminating Proverbs 3:31 was what I ought to do. For centuries, our nation has hidden from the oppression it has inflicted upon people who were not the founding norm—white, heterosexual, Christian, cisgender, and property-owning. Today, without ongoing self-examination, we all—both white and of color—easily perpetuate the ongoing oppression of others. We have to understand that our current racial chasm is not an accident. The many black and brown bodies that have bled onto this soil are speaking to us. It is my hope that this poem will encourage us to listen, even when it is difficult. It is also my hope that through the work of knowing ourselves, we find ourselves engaged in an ongoing, courageous commitment of working towards true reconciliation and reparation. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Marlanda Dekine-Sapient Soul (she/her/they) is a poet and social worker from Plantersville, South Carolina. She is pursuing her MFA in Poetry with New York University's Low-Residency program in Paris. Learn more about their work at sapientsoul.com . Website Marlanda Dekine About the Artist Artist in Residence 2020, Sapient Soul (Marlanda Dekine) 2020 Artist in Residence: Marlanda Dekine Getting Lighter Marlanda Dekine Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art I am free of the supremacy that drives you, binding your life. We have always been your mirror and the form of your shadow. You need us. View Full Written Work Know thyself A Poem by Marlanda Dekine-Sapient Soul Proverbs 3:31 "Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways." __ I am free of the supremacy that drives you, binding your life. We have always been your mirror and the form of your shadow. You need us. Those who hide their guilt in giving empty gifts are afraid of proximity to themselves in the other. This other who has always known Ma’at.* The oppressor hovers under privilege, praying to the idol of themselves, “Oh, how terrible! Help us.” You build walls and shoot into mirrors of the unarmed, afraid to face yourself. When tragedy comes to awaken you, we know that some will still choose sleep. For you and those of us who become you— I pray, but I will not struggle. * Ma'at was the rule of law and moral justice among the ancient Kemet people, and the divine cosmological order within their mythology, astronomy, and astrophysical studies. Kemet is the name the native African people of the country now known as Egypt called themselves in their surviving writings. Close Loading Video . . . I am free of the supremacy that drives you, binding your life. We have always been your mirror and the form of your shadow. You need us. Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . 2016 Artist in Residence Lauren Ferebee shares the final development of her "Book of (H)ours," reflects on her presentation of the work, and looks forward to how she would like to continue the development of her piece that illuminated Proverbs 8. Proverbs 8:1-6 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee By Lauren Ferebee Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2016 2016 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link In Proverbs 8, Wisdom says: Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gate leading into the city, at the entrance, she cries aloud: “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, set your hearts on it. (vv. 1-5) On a cold Saturday at the end of November, right before Thanksgiving, about twenty people gathered into a small house generously donated by a friendly organization to listen to me talk for an hour. They were people intentionally invited to share an intimate experience with me, which was the book of hours I created over the last year. I invited each person individually to the performance, and they were mainly people I have met over the last year in Dallas. At the bottom of this post, you can see the intimate setup. The stage was a music stand, a stool, and a lamp. Each audience member, upon arriving, selected a hand-held instrument to use, and they marked the transitions from hour to hour with their instruments. I performed with no makeup, in a sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. I left my ideas about who I was and who I was supposed to be at the door, and I let who I was in honesty lead the way forward. It was very scary, and I still don't know if I did it "right," but I know that in that space of speaking and being listened to, I learned a lot. I have plans in the works to continue this piece. My dream is to tour it to all the places where I have community, and to share it with those communities. When I began this project in January, I had anticipated creating a large online resource. However, after much discussion with friends and evolution of my own ideas, what I realized was that this would not, actually, be in the spirit of the book of hours or of wisdom. A book of hours was a personal object, made with painstaking work, made for someone on a journey of self-discovery. The template I made for my own book of hours was my own version of that, and it was how I performed it. What I know of wisdom, what I have learned over the last year, is that it is created in the space between people, in communication and understanding. I think Wisdom herself, in Proverbs 8, understands this. As I meditated on the figure of wisdom, standing at the gate, or on the hill, I was struck by the comparable women throughout history, who have called out truth to the masses, often without response, or little response. There is nothing impersonal about it, nowhere to hide behind. To be Wisdom, you have to put your body in space, speaking words, to others. It is just that simple. To receive and ask for wisdom is a deeply personal experience, and a radical sharing of oneself with others In that spirit, I have chosen to share only a piece of what I created that night. However, in thinking about how to share with you the process that I went through, I decided the most beneficial offering I could make would be a template, which you can download here. The template is a guide to making your own book of hours. I suggest doing it with others: perhaps six others, so everyone can take on a day. I continue on my quest to make contemplative objects for others: that practice will take longer and be more time-intensive than I had imagined, but I have found each moment spent creating to be an incredible gift. CLICK HERE TO READ THE BOOK OF (h)OURS GUIDE Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Lauren Ferebee is a Texan native and a multidisciplinary artist whose primary mediums are playwriting and installation/video art. Most recently, her play The Reckless Season was selected for Stage West’s Southwest Playwriting Competition Festival of New Works, and her alternative screwball comedy Sexual Geography was a finalist for the Reva Shiner Comedy Award at the Bloomington Playwrights’ Project. In 2014, she was a juried fellow at Saltonstall Arts Colony, a semifinalist for the Shakespeare’s Sister fellowship and the first theatre-artist-in-residence at HUB-BUB in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where in addition to writing, she did community-based theatre work. Her most recent work includes Sexual Geography (developed at HUB-BUB), The Reckless Season (The Spartanburg Little Theatre/HUB-BUB), Somewhere Safer (FringeNYC 2013, Inkwell finalist), and Blood Quantum (At Hand Theatre & WET Productions). Three of her short plays, jericho, jericho , Bob Baker’s End of the World and The Pirate King are published online at indietheaternow.com , where Somewhere Safer is also published as part of the 2013 Fringe Collection. She is a member of playwriting collective Lather, Rinse, Repeat, and studied playwriting, screenwriting and television writing at Primary Stages/ESPA. Lauren also has regional and NYC credits as an actress on stage and in film, and from 2007-2010 was co-artistic director of a site-specific classical theatre company, Rebellious Subjects Theatre. She especially enjoys acting in and teaching Shakespeare and working on new plays. She holds a BFA in drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Website Lauren Ferebee About the Artist Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 1 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 2 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 3 while in a foreign land Wonders of the Deep Lauren Ferebee Other Works By Follow the previous development of Lauren's 2016 Artist in Residence project by reading her first , second , and third post. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . The voice in this narrative poem by Ren Jackson explores the heartache and journey of praise in response to 1 Samuel 2:1-10. 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Hannah's Song By Ren Jackson Credits: Curated by: Jonathon Roberts 2018 Spoken Word Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I will offer this: What struck me from the start was Hannah's voice. On one level, it was fascinating to go through several iterations of the passage, i.e., God's Word, Good News Bible, Amplified and particularly The Message to see how her story was related. Then, on another, to hear how she made her promise to God, in some cases it said, vow, and her subsequent exaltation, to God, for the promise that was fulfilled. It was that exaltation, her song of praise, that resonated with me and is the core of the narrative of the poem. I wanted to explore how might that sound in a contemporary tone, yet rooted in Hannah's voice. As I continued to compose the piece, I felt compelled to include echoes of what transpires in 1 Samuel 1. I thought the reader would appreciate the context of the narrative better with a few more lines providing that referenced where and why the 'song' was lifted up. I know there are diverse examples of this kind of praise throughout the Bible. As much as I was inspired by Hannah's act of worship, it was also the tenacity, and specificity to which she spoke that captivated my imagination. There is clearly an emotional distance that Hannah covers, and what I hoped to convey by the 'end' (because it's a beginning, too) was a sense that along the way she found the space to accept that she was no longer 'broken or barren'—indeed, never was—and that she came to the conclusion to make the choice to dance till her home-going. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Ren Jackson : Born and bred in Indianapolis, this Midwest kid was molded in the deserts of Arizona, and forged on the stages of Chicago. Ren emerged amid the thriving theater and teaching artist community in New York, having logged miles regionally as a professional actor, including time as a company member with the Brooklyn-based, site-specific theater company, Brave New World Rep, in addition to building on his stints as a teaching artist in Chicago and New York. Being a former competitive athlete, much of his approach to his work is grounded in his exploration of a story's physicality. Whether it be through stage combat, dance, gesture or stylized movement, his commitment and enthusiasm to creating a physical narrative that supplements and highlights a text are evident. Ren is always up for collaboration on projects with a focus on strong storytelling, spiritual development, ensemble building and mentoring youth in the performing arts, fitness or sports. Website Ren Jackson About the Artist Ren Jackson Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art Broken and barren to the bone I'll haunt this step till You call me home. { SILENCE *kneeling, lips moving*} View Full Written Work HANNAH'S SONG Ren Jackson Broken and barren to the bone I'll haunt this step till You call me home. { SILENCE * kneeling, lips moving * } The pastor was in the church that day. Eyes defiant at what they beheld. Still, I knelt and silently released my lament despite his critical que. "You dare come into His house drunk? He accused. What's wrong with you? This ain't the place to get crunk!" I was delirious in my cry. "I asked Him for a son! I'll bring him to you To have and to hold, to teach and to annoint. He will even eclipse your sons, By His will, I hope you will appoint." With a shiver, I turned to accept his blessing Then went on my way. I knew when I conceived, felt it in my core. In an instant, the insults, and slights - the marital prosecution dissolved. I was full - ripe with the joy that my prayer had been answered. Broken and barren to the bone I'll haunt this step till You call me home {*kneeling*} This time I come before your throne, To praise you for the blessing of my son, Samuel. because I asked You for him. Names she called me, said I was second best She couldn't handle the truth of my love the conviction of my faith I was a rival of hers that put her to the test. Regardless of rank or privilege I did my duty Wife #2 ? No, I'm not no regular Betty. I am Hannah, and I respect the game. She has her brood: four out the door Two on the floor, and another wailing at her chest for more. But I'm not hatin'. Nope not me. Even though in the beginning I was bereft of the bounty that might flow from from my womb, Ready to risk it all, even to lay down in my tomb I still raised my voice like a rushing river, Lifted my eyes like a morning sun blazing Flung my arms like the eagle soars on the wind Despite her crushing ways To praise Him To ask of Him To thank Him for His Love. Broken and barren to the bone I'll haunt this step till You call me home You established my salvation before I was born Reached back in the generations to knit a promise And saved it for the day when I thought I was alone. You are the Creator, no one, no thing, greater. My Rock, my sword, my shield, my wheel in the middle of the wheel The Lily of the valley, a bright and Morning Star It made no difference what she said I still fall on my knees and sing, "I'll wait right here, for ya Jesus, till You come." Cause you firm up my backbone, and make my steps certain While humbling the stiff and loosening their way. You rejuvenate the listless, give hope to the homeless; You revive some from that lasting sleep, while others are laid to rest. You make plenty, where there is lack; Change paupers into princes And even the White House Black. Our world was built by Your word, and through the Word everything came to be; When the Word became Flesh Though many didn't recognize, Your patience surpassed all understanding. Healed and whole in my soul I'll dance this step till you call me home Hannah prayed: I’m bursting with GOD-news! I’m walking on air. I’m laughing at my rivals. I’m dancing my salvation. Nothing and no one is holy like GOD, no rock mountain like our GOD. Don’t dare talk pretentiously— not a word of boasting, ever! For GOD knows what’s going on. He takes the measure of everything that happens. The weapons of the strong are smashed to pieces, while the weak are infused with fresh strength. The well-fed are out begging in the streets for crusts, while the hungry are getting second helpings. The barren woman has a houseful of children, while the mother of many is bereft. GOD brings death and GOD brings life, brings down to the grave and raises up. GOD brings poverty and GOD brings wealth; he lowers, he also lifts up. He puts poor people on their feet again; he rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun! For the very structures of earth are GOD; he has laid out his operations on a firm foundation. He protectively cares for his faithful friends, step by step, but leaves the wicked to stumble in the dark. No one makes it in this life by sheer muscle! GOD enemies will be blasted out of the sky, crashed in a heap and burned. GOD will set things right all over the earth, he’ll give strength to his king, he’ll set his anointed on top of the world! (1 Samuel 2:1‭-‬10, MSG) Close Loading Video . . . Broken and barren to the bone I'll haunt this step till You call me home. { SILENCE *kneeling, lips moving*} Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . The Spark+Echo Band premieres "Do You Love Me?" in response to the encounter between Jesus and Peter in John 21 and one of our themes for 2012 "Sheep". John 21:15-23 Do You Love Me? By The Spark & Echo Band Credits: Curated by: 2012 Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Jonathon says: “I was recently talking to a friend about the theme of sheep for Spark and Echo Arts, saying we are only spending a month on this theme because it’s harder to fill a whole three months with art on sheep passages in the Bible. He said, ‘Well Jesus spent a whole lifetime on sheep.’ And so he did… Here is one of the most famous – and rather mysterious I think – sheep illustrations from Jesus (John 21:15-18). In the song, we’ve tried to capture some of the youthfulness of Peter in the bassoon and the style of the song while recognizing the true underlying depth of what Jesus is saying to us all.” Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection The Spark & Echo Band is a family outfit of songwriting-storytellers led by husband and wife duo Jonathon Roberts and Emily Clare Zempel. Their music brings forgotten poetry and wild stories from the Bible to life: visions of sparkling wheels in the sky, hunger and thirst, and legends of love as strong as death weave with memorable melodies and captivating rhythms. Drawing from a classical background, influenced by the pianism of Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds, and emulating Paul Simon’s narratival techniques, Spark & Echo sings epic tales of love and adventure. The duo has collaborated on three full lengths albums (Spark&Echo, Inheritance, Cities Project), one video album (In the Clocktower), in addition to many theatrical collaborations, this very nonprofit, and two children. They live in beautiful Beacon, New York, with all of the above. Website The Spark & Echo Band About the Artist White Robe What a Day Deep Calls to Deep Yo Sé Where Can I Go? How to Be Free Flesh Lifeblood Artist in Residence 2015: Spark & Echo Band Take to Heart The Wheels Frogs Ruined Inheritance The Spark & Echo Band Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Only a Few Years Will Pass is a guided improvisation for piano solo by composer Jonathon Roberts in response to Job chapter 16. Job 16:1-20 Only a Few Years Will Pass By Jonathon Roberts Credits: Performed by Jonathon Roberts Artist Location: New York City Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2010 Guided improvisation, piano solo Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Here you will find a recording of the piece and also the score so you can play your own response to Job. This piece was written as a "guided Improvisation" for piano. It was meant for a concert setting or even to be used in worship at a service that focuses on this text. The performer is given an outline with the freedom to explore certain themes. Each episode is punctuated by a recurring motive. If you don't know the story of Job, read the full book. Chapter 16 is especially vivid and I feel has certain "improvisatory" elements that inspired this piano solo. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection J onathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible , in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com Website Jonathon Roberts About the Artist Loving Arms I Make Tents The Sower Response There Is Room These are My Sons Consider Me a Partner Weakness The Day Is Almost Here Surrogate Babbler Remember Me Prayer How Beautiful I Am a Fool The Constant Ecclesiastes Cows Blessing Fools for Christ More Than Rubies Dear Friend Jonathon Roberts Other Works By Click to download a PDF of the score Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

stephanie-barenz_house-is-built.jpg Loading Video . . . Responding to Proverbs 24 and the metaphor of the home, artist Stephanie Barenz explores the story of wisdom within her work. Proverbs 24 A House is Built By Stephanie Barenz Credits: Curated by: Charis J. Carmichael Braun 2016 12 x 16 inches Acrylic, ink, pencil on panel Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link This painting is completed on a 12″x16″ wood panel with acrylics, ink, and pencil. I began by laying down a drawing in pencil and working back into it with a neutral palette of acrylics. I used water to dilute the paint to the point where it worked more like watercolor rather than acrylic. The pencil is laid on top of the acrylics, in order to bring out various details. As you can see, my process is a merging of drafting, drawing, and painting. The piece was then sprayed with an archival, kamar varnish in order to seal it. I chose Proverbs 24 as a catalyst for this mixed-media painting. I loved what verses 3 and 4 had to say, “By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” I built the narrative of my painting around these verses. The image I worked from is of a neighborhood in Milwaukee, which is where I currently live and have my home. The extension lines that are coming off of the houses, highlight Proverbs 24’s message of applying the wisdom that is grown at home to the communities that we are a part of. As the chapter outlines our home is where our characters are formed. Our characters will either have a positive or negative impact on our communities. As Proverbs 24:28-29 states, “Do not testify against your neighbor without cause— would you use your lips to mislead? Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me; I’ll pay them back for what they did.” This is the wisdom that I want to fill the rooms of my home with. It is my belief that this kind of wisdom will help to form more vibrant and healthy shared collective spaces. I am grateful for the opportunity to have created a painting for Spark and Echo Arts that will forever remind me of this message. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Stephanie Barenz is an artist who makes mixed media work about place, sojourning, and storytelling. She received her MFA in Visual Arts from the Samfox School of Art of Design at Washington University in St. Louis and her B.A. in Art from Bethany Lutheran College in Minnesota. Her work is informed by her own experiences with sojourning which have included living abroad in Florence, Italy and Hangzhou, China. She grew up in Texas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin and has enjoyed living in several other midwestern cities. She currently lives with her husband, Zach, in Milwaukee, WI. Barenz has completed artist residencies through the Students Artist League of New York, the Pfister Hotel AiR program in Milwaukee, and at the Chicago Printmakers’ Collaborative. Her work has been acquired by notable public collectors, such as Northwestern Mutual and Alverno College and has private collectors across the United States and in Europe. Her paintings have been exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Museum of Wisconsin Art, Dean Jensen Gallery, the John Michael Kohler Art Center, Expo 72 in Chicago, and more. Barenz’s work has been featured in The Artist’s Magazine, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, MPTV, Milwaukee Magazine, the Huffington Post, among others. Learn more by visiting her website www.stephaniebarenz.com Website Stephanie Barenz About the Artist Stephanie Barenz Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

benje_daneman_featured.jpg Loading Video . . . Benje Daneman here with my second update as a 2015 Resident Artist for Spark & Echo Arts… as I mentioned in my last update, my project this year is writing a full length jazz suite based around the concept of Light in scripture. This yearlong endeavor is extremely interesting as I’m able to see long term how the project is being formed and changing over time. Even after only five months it’s evolved and morphed from what I thought it’d be to something slightly different! Find the complete progression of the work linked below. John 3:19-21 John 1:1-5 John 1:14 John 12:34-36 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11 Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 2 By Benje Daneman Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2015 Live Music, Jazz Suite Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link June 8, 2015 Benje Daneman here with my second update as a 2015 Resident Artist for Spark & Echo Arts… as I mentioned in my last update, my project this year is writing a full length jazz suite based around the concept of Light in scripture. This yearlong endeavor is extremely interesting as I’m able to see long term how the project is being formed and changing over time. Even after only five months it’s evolved and morphed from what I thought it’d be to something slightly different! A few updates… This is a great time for an update as one of my bands, SearchParty, met for the first to do an initial reading session of my music for this commission. I was able to bring four parts of the suite to the guys and they played them beautifully. Check out the video to hear the clips! I was hoping to stay only in the Book of John, but it seems as though as I’ve been finding my way out of that book and into the book of Thessalonians … and potentially one in Job still in the works. So far four songs have come to fruition… they are: “(Our Fear of) Exposure” – John 3:19-21 “Light in the Darkness” – John 1:1-5, 14 “Just a Little While Longer” – John 12:34-36 “Children of the Light” – 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11 My most recent band, SearchParty, is taking this music on and our debut performance in NYC will be at Saint Peter’s Church (619 Lexington Avenue (& 54th St.) at 5pm on August 9th at their Sunday Jazz Vespers series. We’d love to see you there as we’ll be unveiling pieces some of the suite for the first time to the public there. My hope is to debut the full suite in a live recording performance in early November here in New York City. I’m in the works of securing the venue and should know very soon. Please stay tuned and we’ll let you know more info as soon as we can! I envision this being a pretty special night and would truly love you being a part of it. It’s pretty exciting seeing how the scripture has been speaking to me as I’m composing over the past few months. I find it to be my meditation/prayer time where I can dig deep into the context of the text and see how it shines a light in my own life. I can’t wait to see where the next steps bring me and this composition! Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection About Benje Daneman A sought after musician for his personal approach, creative musicality and strong versatility, Daneman got his start professionally in 2007 on a national tour with with Doc Severinsen’s Big Band. Since then he has performed with the world renowned Jose Limon Dance Ensemble, recorded for the Grammy nominated album “Elevation” (HMI Big Band) and has appeared as both a leader and sideman at prestigious venues across the country including The Kennedy Center, Baryshnikov Arts Center, FONT (Festival of New Trumpet) Music Festival and The Iridium. As a composer/arranger, he has received commissions from the United States Air Force Band (in Europe), Dr. Steve Zegree, Spark and Echo Arts and Lutheran Music Missions. His 2015 Artist in Residence for Spark and Echo Arts, is the catalyst for one of his newest projects called Search Party which approaches faith topics through original music, with a band including some of the top musicians on the jazz scene today, including Ike Sturm, Jon Cowherd, Jaimeo Brown and Ashley Daneman. Another new project of Daneman’s, Life Stories, calls upon his deep interest and history in musical storytelling by musically creating a personal and unique experience for the audience by aurally recreating true stories of people places and events. Daneman’s 2013 EP release Estelle’s Farewell Gift features all original compositions featuring Jeremy Siskind, Ashley Daneman and Andrew Rathbun and has been described as “Simple songs that open doors to complex reactions” (David Sumner, Bird Is The Worm). A Teaching Artist for the New York Pops, Daneman is a passionate educator and has led clinics and workshops throughout the country at such institutions as McNally Smith College, Western Michigan University, Concordia University and for the Michigan State Band and Orchestra Association. He is also the co-director of the Jazz & Creative Institute (http://www.jcinstitute.org), which has a mission to inspire artistic development and cultivate creative entrepreneurship for all levels of creative musicians. Benje has attended and holds degrees from Western Michigan University, The Henry Mancini Institute (Los Angeles, CA), and Manhattan School of Music (New York, NY). Benje lives in New York City with his wife, jazz singer-songwriter, Ashley Daneman and daughters, Rivi and Elise. Website Benje Daneman About the Artist Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 1 Artist in Residence 2015 | Benje Daneman 3 To Lay Down One's Life Artist in Residence 2015: Benje Daneman Benje Daneman Other Works By Follow the development of Benje's project by reading this in addition to his first , third and final posts as a 2015 Artist in Residence. Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Multidisciplinary artist Lauren Ferebee created this theatrical film in response to Psalm 107:23-32. Psalms 107:23-32 Wonders of the Deep By Lauren Ferebee Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts 2015 Short Film Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I set out in creating this piece to make a theatrical film – since I am primarily a theatre artist, I wanted to retain elements of the theatrical, but wanted to create a response to this verse that could be fully experienced by anyone who interacted with the work via the website. In reading my section of Psalm 107, I was struck by two major elements: the importance of water and travel in the merchants who go out on this journey to another shore, and the way that God chooses to show his might: by bringing them to their knees and then guiding them to safer shores. The first image I had was a woman in red, standing in the middle of a river with a suitcase, uncertain of where her journey will take her. The second image was an origami boat. These two images became central to the visual narrative of the piece. I think what emerged out of that, on a personal and artistic level, was the theme of uncertainty. When we set out on journeys, we have a false sense of knowing where they are going, how they will turn out. What this psalm teaches is that none of us know what may happen on that journey, or how the experience of the journey will affect us, or whether, at the end of it, we will look back on the journey and regret it. All we know is that the pieces (some might say wreckage) of the lives we have made for ourselves inevitably finds its way through with us, and ultimately, we must discover what we will keep, what we will give away and what will follow us no matter how much we try to leave it behind. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Lauren Ferebee is a Texan native and a multidisciplinary artist whose primary mediums are playwriting and installation/video art. Most recently, her play The Reckless Season was selected for Stage West’s Southwest Playwriting Competition Festival of New Works, and her alternative screwball comedy Sexual Geography was a finalist for the Reva Shiner Comedy Award at the Bloomington Playwrights’ Project. In 2014, she was a juried fellow at Saltonstall Arts Colony, a semifinalist for the Shakespeare’s Sister fellowship and the first theatre-artist-in-residence at HUB-BUB in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where in addition to writing, she did community-based theatre work. Her most recent work includes Sexual Geography (developed at HUB-BUB), The Reckless Season (The Spartanburg Little Theatre/HUB-BUB), Somewhere Safer (FringeNYC 2013, Inkwell finalist), and Blood Quantum (At Hand Theatre & WET Productions). Three of her short plays, jericho, jericho , Bob Baker’s End of the World and The Pirate King are published online at indietheaternow.com , where Somewhere Safer is also published as part of the 2013 Fringe Collection. She is a member of playwriting collective Lather, Rinse, Repeat, and studied playwriting, screenwriting and television writing at Primary Stages/ESPA. Lauren also has regional and NYC credits as an actress on stage and in film, and from 2007-2010 was co-artistic director of a site-specific classical theatre company, Rebellious Subjects Theatre. She especially enjoys acting in and teaching Shakespeare and working on new plays. She holds a BFA in drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Website Lauren Ferebee About the Artist Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 1 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 2 Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Part 3 while in a foreign land Artist in Residence 2016: Lauren Ferebee Lauren Ferebee Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

andrew-schmidt_revelation-16-1-17.jpg Andrew-Schmidt_Revelation-16-1-17_Detail-1.jpg Andrew-Schmidt_Revelation-16-1-17_Detail-2-588x391.jpg Andrew-Schmidt_Revelation-16-1-17_Detail-3-588.jpeg Andrew-Schmidt_Revelation-16-1-17_Detail-4-588x391.jpg Loading Video . . . Artist Andrew Schmidt uses graphite, marker, pen, and ink to explore God's wrath in response to the theme of "Destruction" and Revelation 16:1-17. Revelation 16:1-17 Revelation 16:1-17 By Andrew Schmidt Credits: Artist Location: Michigan Curated by: Evelyn Lewis 2014 15 x 19 inches Graphite, Marker, Pen and Ink on Paper Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link I chose this passage from Revelation because I wanted to illustrate the Wrath of God in a more modern approach. The style of the piece is my take on old natural science illustrations and alchemy diagrams of the Heavens. The geometric shape in the center represents God as a continuous form that has seven points or aspects; these then become the vials that contain God's Wrath. The individual Wrath's themselves reminded me of many modern problems we face today such as disease, pollutions, drought, and wild fires. These are all pressing global concerns that are foreshadowed in the Bible on the path to Armageddon. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Andrew Schmidt (b. 1989) is an artist from Ferndale, Michigan. He received his MFA in Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art (2014) and BFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University (2012). He has shown in Detroit, MI, Philadelphia, PA, and New York City. Website Andrew Schmidt About the Artist Andrew Schmidt Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

steve-forster_prophecy.jpg Loading Video . . . This surprising work by artist Steve Forster responds to 1 Corinthians 13:8-12. 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 Prophecy By Steve Forster Credits: Curated by: Charis J. Carmichael Braun 2013 28 x 56 inches Oil on Linen Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." 1 Corinthians 13:8 Empty space, blank unpainted canvas, is a profound reversal of chaos. More effective than erasure, it is as if the history never happened. An age passes away and becomes undone. Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Steve Forster received a BFA in Painting from the University of North Florida and an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art (NYAA), following two years of study at the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. Forster utilizes the variety in his artistic training to his advantage, making paintings that are definitively contemporary and simultaneously aware of context informed by art history. A love of paint and craft combines with a flair for the theatrical to create paintings that move the viewer while still leaving unanswered questions. Forster works in New York as a painter and painting instructor at NYAA and at the Long Island Academy of Fine Art. Website Steve Forster About the Artist Steve Forster Other Works By Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . This quirky one-act play by playwright Adam Szymkowicz, performed in this audio recording by a talented group of actors, responds to the book of Titus as a whole. Titus 3:15 Titus 1:15-2:8 Titus 3:1-3:7 Titus 1:1-4 Berbert By Adam Szymkowicz Credits: Playwright by Adam Szymkowicz CAST: T by Anna O’Donoghue CAST: Angie by Nandita Shenoy CAST: Paul by Robert Manning, Jr. CAST: Berbert by Michael Markham Curated by: Michael Markham 2018 One Act Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link In my play, I reset Titus in a corporate setting-- Instead of setting up churches in Crete, "T" is tasked with hiring a new staff at an unnamed office. To me, Titus is about figuring out how to build human organizations correctly and I thought that was apt as in offices all over the country people are aligning mission statements and figuring out best practices. But we are human, and we do not always succeed in the ways we want, as "T" shows us. And it's also possible to fail when you lead with love. But we try all the same to do good, don't we? Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection ADAM SZYMKOWICZ ’s plays have been produced throughout the U.S., and in Canada, England, Wales, The Isle of Man, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Greece, Mexico, Turkey, Switzerland, South Korea, Thailand, Sweden, Austria, Slovenia and Lithuania. His work has been presented or developed at such places as Portland Center Stage, MCC Theater, Ars Nova, South Coast Rep, Playwrights Horizons, LCT3, LAByrinth Theater Company, The Lark, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Primary Stages and The New Group, among others. Published plays include Deflowering Waldo, Pretty Theft, Food For Fish, Hearts Like Fists, Incendiary, Clown Bar, The Why Overhead, Adventures of Super Margaret, 7 Ways To Say I Love You, Rare Birds, Marian Or The True Tale of Robin Hood, Kodachrome, Mercy, The Book Store, Old Fashioned Cold Fusion, The Parking Lot, The Night Children, Clown Bar 2, The Wooden Heart, Stockholm Syndrome, 100 Things I Never Said To You, 100 Love Letters I Never Sent and Nerve . His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service, Concord/Samuel French, Playscripts, Broadway Play Publishing, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Stage Partners and Original Works Publishing, and are featured in numerous Smith and Kraus and Applause books. His monologue book, Small Explosions comes out from Applause in 2023. He was the premiere Resident Playwright at The Chance Theater in Anaheim, CA and the first playwright to participate in Bloomington Playwrights Projects' Square One Series. He has been to The Orchard Project and to JAW at Portland Center Stage, served twice as Playwright in Residence at the William Inge Center, and took part in The Dramatists Guild Fund's Traveling Masters program. Szymkowicz received a grant from the CT Commission on Culture & Tourism, and has been commissioned by South Coast Rep, Rising Phoenix Rep, Texas State University, The NOLA Project, Single Carrot Theater, and Flux Theater Ensemble. Adam received a Playwright's Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an MFA from Columbia University where he was the Dean's Fellow. Szymkowicz is a two-time Lecomte du Nouy Prize winner, a member of the Dramatists Guild, Writer's Guild of America, and was a member of Primary Stages' Dorothy Strelsin New American Writer's Group, the MCC Playwright's Coalition and of the first Ars Nova Play Group. He has interviewed 1000 playwrights on his blog . Szymkowicz is the Literary Manager at The Juilliard School, supporting the playwriting program there. For more, go to www.adamszymkowicz.com . Website Adam Szymkowicz About the Artist Adam Szymkowicz Other Works By Read the script here: Berbert CAST MEMBERS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: Anna O’Donoghue is an actor, writer, and literary manager based in New York City. She has appeared on, off, and off-off-Broadway, and has worked regionally in Maine, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Missouri, Kansas, New Jersey, New Mexico, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School. Nandita Shenoy is an actor-writer living in New York. Previous Adam Szymkowicz plays that she has acted in are Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood produced by Flux Theatre Ensemble and Mercy at the New Jersey Repertory Theater. When not acting in plays by Adam, she writes plays and occasionally stars in them, like her Off-Broadway play, Washer/Dryer, produced by Ma-Yi Theater Company. Nandita holds a BA in English literature from Yale University. AEA/SAG-AFTRA www.nanditashenoy.com Robert Manning, Jr. is a graduate of the University of Washington’s MFA Professional Acting Training Program. Working on Broadway and Off; working in television and film; Rob is honored to lend his voice to this wonderful project. 2008 NAACP Theatre Award Nomination - Best Lead Actor. 2010 NAACP Best Supporting nomination. 2012 NAACP Best Ensemble win. He would like to thank his parents and his lovely family for their continued love and support. For more information on Robert, please visit robertmanningjr.com . Michael Markham — NY Credits: "The Spectacular Demise of Platonov"; "christopher marlowe’s chloroform dreams"; "Mother Courage and Her Children" and "Macbeth" at The Public. Film & TV: Law & Order; The Decades of Mason Carroll; Black Card (HBO); When Things Fall Apart; Home Office; Fumes; Lies. Owner - KiteMonkey Productions. Training: The Juilliard School. SAG-AFTRA, AEA: www.MichaelMarkhamOnline.com Related Information View More Art Make More Art View Full Written Work Close Loading Video . . . Download Full Written Work

Loading Video . . . Emily Rose Hazel's work responds to the incorporates her experiences in Ghana with the theme of "Fools" in response to the passages of Proverbs 1:8–9; 10:14, 21; 17:12, 28; 19:13; 29:20 and Ecclesiastes 10:12 as she builds a poetry collection responding to every theme from the year as a 2013 Spark+Echo Artist in Residence. Proverbs 10:14 Proverbs 1:8-9 Proverbs 10:21 Proverbs 17:12 Proverbs 17:28 Proverbs 19:13 Proverbs 29:20 Ecclesiastes 10:12 Circling the Waist of Wisdom By Emily Ruth Hazel Credits: Curated by: Spark+Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2013 2013 Poetry/Spoken Word Primary Scripture Loading primary passage... Loading Passage Reference... Share This Art: Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy Link Throughout the book of Proverbs, the foolish and the wise are defined by their contrast with each other—so writing about foolishness naturally led me to explore the tandem theme of wisdom. Proverbs are also an essential part of the rich oral tradition of African cultures. As the meanings almost always hinge on metaphors, proverbs lend themselves to poetic play and reinterpretation. As I learned from African friends in college—both in the United States and in Ghana and South Africa—there is a sense of humor that translates through many African proverbs as well. (One of my personal favorites is, “A leopard is chasing us, and you are asking me, ‘Is it a male or a female?’”) I was interested in creating a poem in which biblical and African proverbs could be in conversation with each other. Framing the poem partly around my own experiences as an American traveling in Ghana, I incorporated eight biblical proverbs, five common African proverbs, and eleven specifically Ghanaian proverbs—a bicultural exploration that deepened my appreciation for the universality of wisdom. Notes on the Poem (Specific to Ghanaian Culture) Asantehene: the highest traditional ruler of the Asante people of Ghana Baobab: African tree with an extremely wide trunk—a symbol of wisdom Batik: commonly worn fabric, dyed using a wax-resist method to create patterns Cedis: Ghanaian currency Harmattan: dry season during which the wind blows dust from the desert Kente: traditional hand-woven cloth featuring bright colors and designs Legon: suburb of Accra, the capital city of Ghana Tro-tro: mode of public transportation—a van that operates similar to a bus Spark Notes The Artist's Reflection Emily Ruth Hazel is a poet, writer, and cross-pollinator who is passionate about diversifying the audience for poetry and giving voice to people who have been marginalized. Selected as the Honorary Poet for the 25th Annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading in Providence, Rhode Island, she presented a commissioned tribute to the Poet Laureate of Harlem in February of 2020. She is a two-time recipient of national Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prizes and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for a residency at The Hambidge Center in 2014. Her chapbook, Body & Soul (Finishing Line Press, 2005) , was a New Women’s Voices finalist. Emily’s work has appeared in numerous anthologies, magazines, literary journals, and digital projects, including Kinfolks: A Journal of Black Expression and Magnolia: A Journal of Women’s Socially Engaged Literature. Her poetry has also been featured on music albums, in a hair salon art installation, and in a science museum exhibition. Emily has written more than twenty commissioned works for organizations, arts productions, social justice projects, and private clients. Currently, she is developing several poetry book manuscripts and writing lyrics for an original musical inspired by the life of the extraordinary singer and Civil Rights icon Marian Anderson. A graduate of Oberlin College’s Creative Writing Program and a former New Yorker, she is now based in the Los Angeles area. EmilyRuthHazel.com Instagram: @EmilyRuthHazel Facebook.com/EmilyRuthHazel Website Emily Ruth Hazel About the Artist Artist in Residence 2013, Emily Ruth Hazel Word of Mouth In the Wake of the Storm Give Me a Name Homecoming Runaway Give Us This Day Undressing Prayer Emily Ruth Hazel Other Works By Explore the other works composed throughout the year in Emily's poetry collection, created as a 2013 Artist in Residence . Explore her works created throughout the year: “In the Wake of the Storm” LIGHT AND DARKNESS (JANUARY 21, 2013) “Circling the Waist of Wisdom” FOOLS (APRIL 26, 2013) “Homecoming” DANCING (JUNE 27, 2013) “Runaway” LIES (AUGUST 8, 2013) “Give Us This Day” HARVEST (NOVEMBER 14, 2013) “Undressing Prayer” MEMORY (JANUARY 6, 2013) Artists in Residence Spark+Echo Artists in Residence spend a year developing and creating a major work in response to Scripture. Click on their names to view their projects. Current Artists in Residence Spark+Echo Arts seeks to develop and support communities of artists who engage with and create in response to the Bible. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 and some internal changes, we decided to pause the Artist in Residency for a year so that we could regroup our resources. Our hope is to continue offering this opportunity in 2021. Previous Artists in Residence 2020 Sapient Soul, Marlanda Dekine (Poetry + Spoken Word) 2019 Lancelot Schaubert (Short Story) 2018 Elias Popa (Installation Art) 2017 Aaron Beaumont (Music), Lily Maase (Music) 2016 Ebitenyefa Baralaye (Visual Art), Chris Knight (Film), Lauren Ferebee (Theatre), Stephanie Miracle (Dance) 2015 Benje Daneman (Music), Jason DaSilva (Film), Melissa Beck (Visual Art), Don Nguyen (Theatre), Christine Suarez (Dance), The Spark & Echo Band (Music) 2013 Nicora Gangi (Visual Art), Emily Ruth Hazel (Poetry) Related Information View More Art Make More Art Cozy in a carrel, I held words, studied the chemistry between them, listened to their music, and learned how molten meanings form beneath their layers. View Full Written Work Circling the Waist of Wisdom by Emily Ruth Hazel 1. A New Side of Knowing All through college, I had a steady date with the library. Cozy in a carrel, I held words, studied the chemistry between them, listened to their music, and learned how molten meanings form beneath their layers. Parting the pages of books, entering headfirst into the turbulent waters of the world’s deepest minds, I bartered sleep for knowledge. Wisdom was a separate goal, something I hoped to acquire at an antique shop decades down the road after I had earned my senior discount. I didn’t expect to meet Wisdom in the flesh during a semester away in Ghana. Yet there he was, working in an Internet café I frequented on campus in Legon. A friendly gatekeeper of all the world’s ideas, he sold students access by the minute. If I had pictured Wisdom as a person, he would have had a waist-long beard like cotton batting, the stuff of dreams pulled apart. Instead, he was a young man, clean-cut, smooth as Swiss chocolate. His smile, wide as a banana leaf, always offered a moment of welcome shade. His given name a poet’s dream, I wondered what it must be like for Wisdom to wear that weighty, golden virtue around his neck: a single blunder or a chain of poor decisions could turn his name into an oxymoron, making fools of his parents. When my flash drive died mid-semester, all the words I had carefully strung together scattered like bright beads from a broken string. Bargaining with technology was as pointless as my attempts to whittle down the price of bananas at the market. (How was I to know there are some things one simply doesn’t bargain for?) Wisdom couldn’t replace my lost memory, but he knew where to find what I needed. I handed him hundreds of thousands of cedis— what seemed like my entire college savings— and true to his word, Wisdom traveled by tro-tro, kilometers beyond helpful, to buy me a flash drive that could hold twice as many insights as I had time left to gather. 2. Seasoned with Wisdom In Ghana, I cooked in unfamiliar kitchens, gleaning lessons from friends. I found my way through the maze of narrow aisles at the market in search of rice, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and oil; discovered which peppers never to buy again; learned to wait till the plantains’ skins grew black and trust that the fruit, ready to fry, would be perfectly sweet inside. Ghanaians love to season conversations with proverbs: a joke mixed in with a knowing look, a warning when somebody stirs the pot. They say, Where God boils his yam, that is exactly where the devil roasts his fish. And doesn’t a pinch of wisdom, like cayenne pepper, deliver the kick we need? Doesn’t it, like salt, preserve and bring out the best in us, and sometimes burn? A hard saying is the blunt edge of the knife that spares us from the sharper side of pain, keeps us from befriending wolves in shearling jackets, from tripping at the cliff’s edge and plummeting into the canyon of our appetites, from running barefoot into the briar patch of another romance before the berries are ripe. 3. Gold for the Keeping To get lost is to learn the way. If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. When the desert winds arrive, even the sky is thirsty; no one can prepare for harmattan by drinking a river. They are worth more than rubies, these revelations mined from the mind of an expert guide or hewn from the rough terrain of a reckless life or sifted through the swirling, careful spill of years. How they glitter amidst the ordinary—a vein of insight, flecks of light floating in a muddy stream. While keepers of hard-earned wisdom open their doors to seekers, they never set out all their treasures where anyone can see them from the street. But those who don’t know better display in their front windows every cheap conclusion like a surplus of dollar store trinkets. A simpleton may be mistaken for a sage if he stays silent, but there is more hope for a fool than for the speaker of unmeasured words. The tongue weighs practically nothing, but few have muscle enough to hold it. 4. Among Family A man has to hold his mouth open a long time before a rotisserie chicken flies into it. When a woman is hungry, she says, “Cook something for the children so they can eat.” A nagging spouse is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof. She thinks, If he were wise, he would have fixed it the first time. And he thinks, If she were wise, she would stop asking and do it herself. Through the cracks we catch glimpses of each other, and marriage is like a peanut shell that must be cracked to see what is inside. A wise son brings joy to his parents, a fistful of wildflowers to grace the family table. A foolish child comes running home, hungry for trouble, his legs a pair of scissors puncturing the afternoon ahead of him, a chorus of matches burning a hole in his pocket. On greeting his parents, he thrusts out his fists, demanding that they guess which one holds a surprise. His fingers uncurl to reveal what he has brought them, and both hands are full of disaster. 5. Playing the Fool Act One: Folly wears a jester’s hat and stands before the court, clumsily juggling swords and glass goblets. Intermission: by the time the fool has learned the game, the players have dispersed. Act Two: Folly, in a dunce cap, faces the blackboard, grasping a stub of chalk, dragging out the dusty words, I will not be what I am, I will not be what I am… 6. The Fool’s Apprentice An over-the-counter remedy for foolishness, wisdom’s potency, derived from the root of experience, is easier to swallow packed into the colorful capsule of a metaphor. No one with any sense jumps in with both feet to test the water’s depth. Only fools know everything; a wise driver admits to having blind spots. Pity the fool’s apprentice who pulls out in traffic in front of the master fool gunning it toward rash and stupid schemes. Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than to cross a fool hellbent on folly. A fool won’t flirt with wisdom, though wisdom will deign to chase a fool. 7. In Hindsight Wisdom is the often forgotten umbrella. Sometimes I even choose to leave it dangling from a doorknob, ignoring the slim prediction of rain, then cursing my sheer foolishness when the sky bottoms out. I am the keeper of a junkyard of regrets, decisions that have crashed or rusted through— their engines and wheels, whatever healthy organs they had, long since harvested. This is how the rest of us wax wise: by surveying the wreckage, salvaging any usable parts, and selling as scrap metal all that remains, hoping it will be recycled. 8. More Than a Mouthful Wisdom is at home in the company of listeners while the know-it-all lives lonely in a house without a door, trapped within the walls of pride he has built around himself. The counsel of the wise is graciously given and nourishing to many, but starving fools refuse it, their stomachs stuffed with self-importance, no room left for wisdom. Consumed by their own lips, it is the thoughtless who cover their ears and chew the air, mouths full of empty words. Unlike the taste of what we know, if proverbs are not offered as after-dinner mints that melt away immediately, their pastel flavor predictably sweet—can the wisdom of God be contained in a shallow, glass bowl into which we dip a spoon in passing? If God’s words are instead as sticky as Ghanaian toffee, can they be eaten without being chewed? Perhaps they are meant to make our jaws work, quiet us a moment, keep us from filling all the space between us with the sound of our own talking. 9. How Wide Around Wisdom is like a baobab tree spreading its roots and branches, taking hold of both the soil and the sky. The ancient trunk of wisdom is a fortress we stretch to embrace; no one person’s arms can wrap themselves around it. 10. Wearing Wisdom What if God’s thoughts hide from human intellect but reveal themselves to the heart? What if our own wisdom is only in our minds, not sewn into the linings of our lives? What if the threads we wear as we parade past all the spectators are the same line of apparel made by the tailors who fashioned the Emperor’s new clothes? And what if we are also the people in the crowd, each of us shamed into silence, afraid that we ourselves will be exposed, declared unfit for whatever positions we hold? I reimagine the tale as it might be told in Ghana, the Asantehene guaranteed the finest kente cloth by master weavers: the storyteller looks at me, declares, When a naked person promises you cloth, beware. A stitcher of lies will fit you for a gorgeous gown woven out of air. At the market in Accra, I fingered dozens of fabrics, admiring eye-catching patterns, swooning over the vibrant colors. Later came the embarrassment of measurements taken by strangers, then the excitement of seeing my own designs take shape as wearable art. Clothed in the work of their hands, when I saw my reflection, I felt a new kinship with the women around me, reminded how much of what I’ve worn had meaning to somebody else before it became my own. Beneath the batik, close to my skin, a slip of memory: my sister and I at a thrift shop our mother used to take us to in the basement of an old stone church. When I was little, I would weasel my way into the center of each round clothing rack, disappear in a forest of dresses and pants. Tucked in the far corner of the shop, beyond a set of saloon doors, was a tiny fitting room. Though I haven’t been back there in decades, I can see myself now, standing in my stocking feet, ducking down behind the swinging doors. I am trying on the hand-me-down ways of wisdom, slipping them over my head, blindly fumbling for the armholes. There— another transformation. Wearing a proverb I haven’t committed to keeping, again I am made new, and I am everyone before me, all their stories echoing in the glass, the tag’s plastic stem still poking me from somewhere inside as I turn slowly, studying myself from other angles in the mirror of the word. Close Loading Video . . . Cozy in a carrel, I held words, studied the chemistry between them, listened to their music, and learned how molten meanings form beneath their layers. Download Full Written Work