Somatics, Movement, and Writing Symposium...

The only downside to being in SF this weekend was missing the Somatics, Movement, and Writing Symposium in MI, put together, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) by Petra Kuppers and the organizing team listed below -- who helped the workshop participants and performance folks during the weekend. I would imagine several others were involved in organizing various parts of the weekend. This poesis, given a multiple media/performance background, an interest in the politics and poetics of the corporeal, and engagement in post-abelism, that is really close to my heart (for lack of a better way to say it at moment).

Given how far away I am, I would have had a difficult time getting out there even if. Because I've been hoping for the time/money to fly to MI anyhow: simply, I miss my dad a lot and would really like to see him.

I'm just thrilled the symposium happened. I remember Petra announcing it during my last visit to the Bay, during our Nonsite commons discussion. And I wait enthusiastically for the post-symposium reflections to start flowing. A couple have already emerged on the web. Some wonderful photos taken by Thom are up at Wild Horses of Fire. Many are of Brenda Iijima's dance/movement workshop/performance, the same event Bhanu Kapil dreams from, and writes about, over on her blog. The combo of photos and dream journal piece by Kapil give me a small sense of how f-ing amazing Brenda's piece was/is. Darn.

So, if you have some reflections on the weekend that you don't plan on putting anyplace like your blog or in a journal, just comments, notes, or what-have-you, I'd love to hear them. Live vicariously thru you. So feel free to post here or email backchannel. Here's to hoping the symposium occurs next year!

Conference Team:

Amy Sara Carroll, Assistant Professor of English and American Culture (Latina/o Studies), UM

Clare Croft, Postdoctoral Fellow, Society of Fellows, Assistant Professor of Dance, UM

Thom Donovan, poet and essayist, co-editor of ON: Contemporary Practice and the weblog Wild Horses Of Fire

Kate Elswit, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow (Drama/Dance), Stanford University

Bhanu Kapil, Assistant Professor, Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, Naropa University (Cross-Genre Narrative and Poetics)

Jina Kim, PhD student, English/Women?s Studies, UM (Visual Culture)

Petra Kuppers, Associate Professor of English, UM (Performance Studies)

Eleni Stecopoulos, poet, writer, educator, curator of the Poetics of Healing project at the Poetry Center, San Francisco State University