Searching
By Rhea Côté Robbins
Brewer, Maine
June 2011
Searching. Living the life of finding the French heritage
woman/women reflected in the creative world around me.
Looking to believe and to belong.
Too long living the life of the denied. Going toward the
voice of the vision. Important because these are the times
of discovery for one woman that multiplies itself
exponentially in the art world of mirrors reflecting
infinitely. To inform others. Electric. Electricity.
Energy. Engines. [Start your engines(!)]
Gravitate toward the cultural foremothers and their needles
plying cloth of living in the present. Toward the river
banks of self-knowledge against which the waves of knowing
lap and sway at the shores—rocky and steep, defying
ignorance of the truths. Their and our shared existence.
Edge dwelling with the mysteries stories in many and any
form. Paint, sculpture, words, yarn, metal, clay, pictures
taken in the creases of living give testimony to their
French living lives. Notice of the way they leave their
secrets hidden in plain sight for all to witness.
I search for these women to complete my own story. To abate
the tides of the times not told; to warm my hands against
the fire of story and with the stories now told. The
women’s lives lived through their art and craft with all
the others surrounding them—men, women, children—are like
sign posts leading the way towards believing and belonging.
These are the ones I seek. Heartily. Daily. Devouring
details and the feeling of understanding and explained.
Previews of coming attractions.
Too many women to mention and then only a form or delivery
needs to be discovered to alert the others about the
women’s immediate, imminent presence of creativity—past,
present and possible. Not too esoteric, but with the right
spicing to create riot and reveal. The French heritage
women’s artistic blending blended blend presences
accumulated and emblematic to create meaning and depth of
meaning. Joy.
Reclamation as foregrounding the story of the cultural
French heritage women and their lives. Everyday existences
and the importance of maintaining their ways—among and
beyond the evidence.
Restoration as a way of energizing the storied landscape.
Images made new and free.
Remember the future as a piece of everyone’s past. Only,
the story is deeper and has more meaning; anyone is there,
and, also the ones missing are restored. Grief goes away
and only memory serves as measure.
The moment of revival is now and the place is here.
Anything else is forgetting to remember.
-------------------
The above
essay was written in response to the call for essays
below:
Greetings,
Do you have an essay on the arts that's been bouncing
around in your head? Now is the time to put it to paper!
Our friends up at the Maine Arts Commission have put out a
call for a piece of original writing about the arts. The
winning piece will be published in the annual edition of
Maine Arts Magazine.
Check out the full details on submitting below.
Good writing,
Joshua Bodwell
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Call for Written Submissions
The Maine Arts Commission is seeking previously unpublished
and insightful critical essays for inclusion in the annual
edition of the Maine Arts Magazine to be printed in August
of 2011. The deadline for submissions is 4:00 pm E.S.T,
June 27, 2011. An award of $500 will be made to the author
whose work is chosen for inclusion in the magazine.
The magazine contains highlights of major arts events and
initiatives taking place in Maine, as well as updates from
successful grant applicants, agency news and guidance for
professional development. Submissions are sought to help
provide broader in-depth content and to further the
agency’s goal of supporting critical writing that pertains
to the arts.
Writers, who are full time Maine residents, are encouraged
to submit work providing critical insight into themes of
art and culture in Maine. Potential subjects could be, but
not limited to, pieces that investigate new ways of working
in the arts in Maine; or provide insight into Maine’s
emerging artists; or offer an exploration of sense of place
as related to Maine’s history of art.
To be considered for inclusion in the magazine applicants
must:
• have a valid Maine address and have resided full-time in
Maine for a minimum of two years at the date of
application, and
• be 18 years of age or older at the time of the
application, and
• not be enrolled as a full-time student in a field related
to the application, and
• have completed and filed all final reports required for
previous Maine Arts Commission grants.
All submissions must be sent via e-mail and should include
the following information:
1. A 400 - 700 word previously unpublished essay in
12-point, black font and double-spaced.
2. An updated resume including full contact details.
3. A Vendor Form (Click here to download) For first time
applicants only. This is information used by the treasury
to generate a check for the chosen author. Applicants
should be sure to indicate the address the check should be
sent to. Click here for instructions on completing your
vendor form.
Work must be submitted via e-mail by 4:00 pm E.S.T, on June
27, 2011 for consideration. E-mail your submissions to
Darrell Bulmer at the Maine Arts Commission,
darrell.bulmer@maine.gov. Please use the words “Magazine
Essay” as the subject line of your e-mail. Please attach
all documents to the e-mail. Please send document files in
PDF, .DOC or RTF formats only.
The successful work will be printed in the Maine Arts
Magazine and housed online in a digital format. First North
American Serial Rights, rights revert to author upon
publication.
\
-
Contents
- Memoir
-
Essay
- Révolution Française
- Wild Strawberries
- Their Black Aprons
- Faith/fidèles
- Les noces américaines
- A RARE MAN/UN HOMME RARE
- Une Superstition Rouge/A Red Superstition
- Maïs de Crème/Creamed Corn
- The French Dog/Le chien français
- Acadians of the Early Settlements
- Author of Change - Anne Hebert
- Franco Women: Cultural and Community “Glue”
- Connections: Jewish and Franco American Women
- A French Heritage Woman
- Searching
- Franco-American Woman in 1910
- “It’s A Good Life if You Don’t Weaken”
- Kickin’ it Cajun Style
- My Aunt Rita's Cross
- La Croix de Ma Tante Rita
- Teaching the baby to swear
- “I Didn’t Know I was French”
- EVA TANGUAY
- Poetry
- Fiction
- Offering Gender
- Interview
- Speeches/Public Presentations
- Journalism
- Plays/Performance
- Events/News
- Research
- Reviews
- Realia
- Recipes
- Photography
- Art
- Children's Stories
- Testimony/Témoinage
- Multicultural Pens
- Other Writings