Immortal souls

Random quote of the day:

 

“For the longest while it was thought that we humans were the only animal possessed of—how was it put?—possessed of an immortal soul.  Of course, those of us who have lived with Irish wolfhounds for most of our lives know that this is preposterous nonsense.”

—Edward Albee, “Chimps Don’t Draw,” Los Angeles Times Op/Ed, May 30, 2006, adapted from Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield Foundation address

 

 

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

What she said

Did you know there used to be poetry competitions in the Olympic games? They stopped issuing medals for poetry after World War II but until then it was part of Pierre de Coubertin’s vision of an Olympic revival. Poetry had been an important part of the ancient games, you see.

In tribute to that idea, National Public Radio has held the Poetry Games over the last few weeks and this morning they announced the winner: South Africa’s Mbali Vilakazi for her poem, “Swim Your Own Race,” a tribute to Natalie du Toit, the first woman amputee to qualify for the Olympics.

Renee Montaigne asked Ms. Vilakazi why, given South Africa’s painful history, she chose to celebrate an Afrikaner woman.

“When I got the invitation to be a part of the Poetry Games, I did have a moment when I thought: OK, well, I’m a young black South African woman, how am I going to use my voice?” Vilakazi says. But she concluded that the fight against apartheid was really a struggle “about people being people and being recognized for their contributions to society, and I held onto that.”

Vilakazi says that the society — and the world — she would like to live in is one in which people have the courage to celebrate one another for what they have done, even when history makes it difficult.

“I just thought that even for a young black South African such as myself, it was important for me to choose her nonetheless,” Vilakazi explains. “I just felt that the story was just so important, we can all benefit from it.”

You can read this lovely poem at the end of the article here and even hear Ms. Vilakazi read it.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.