this week i absolutely fell in love with a book. to everyone who has an open mind, likes poetry, loves language and is interested in the many ways it can be used to convey meaning: pick up a copy of the book Zong! by m. nourbese philip. it is worth it. it is beautiful, it is in a way disturbing and it makes you think. hard. for a long time. it stays with you. and it makes you want to read more of her writing. i have to say, i am deeply moved by it.
since it is impossible to share the wonder that is Zong! here, just a little poem out of one of her earliest collection of poems Salmon Courage. it's just a tiny one.
ANONYMOUS
If no one listens and cries
is it still poetry
if no one sings the note between the silences
if the voice doesn't founder on the edge of the air
is it still music
if there is no one to hear
is it love
or does the sea always roar
in the shell at the ear?
Philip, M. NourbeSe. Salmon Courage. Toronto: Williams-Wallace, 1983.
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