Fireflies
12/5/22
Kendall Johnson — Writer & Visual Artist
Although the News Gives Us Reasons for Despair
We Remember Rotterdam’s Story:
Rotterdam’s Story
Covid-19 shutdowns came as body-blows to businesses around the world. Live performances in the arts were especially hard hit. Not all folded, however. Adjusting to the unfolding series of new realities, many organizations responded creatively and toward a greater good.
Example:
On March 20, 2020, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra pulled off a great experiment. Contending with problems with synchronization, platform integration, and sound quality, Rotterdam produced a performance with 19 of its musicians playing from each of their socially isolated homes. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, his Ode to Joy, captured on Zoom and shared on YouTube, viewed some three million times.
you pull upward
through convection columns and winds
you fly toward the moon
* * *
Amidst narratives of despair, we must refocus on the small points of light all around. I’m a former trauma therapist and on-scene disaster consultant, a teacher, a painter, and now a writer. Last year I found hope in gathering stories of individuals persevering against all odds to overcome despair. Fireflies Against Darkness was my first collection of such stories, and More Fireflies, just released, the second. As current events become the spectacle of darkness for another year, I find myself working on a third collection. I want to share them with you.
Adapted from:
More Fireflies
Arroyo Seco Press
www.arroyosecopress.org/books.html
www.layeredmeaning.com
