creating art in the midst of suffering seems like a pointless or, at the very least, challenging, thing to do. i have felt uneasy about doing so as it feels insensitive or even exploitative.
however...great art exists from times of great suffering and even plague.
I dreamt of Nashe's great poem recently and find myself taking some comfort from it. This isn't simply in terms of it's relevance to the memento mori tradition but also because it is great art produced in a time of death and suffering.
I offer this meditation on the poem in the hope of creating a dim shadow of its spender.
A Litany in Time of Plague
Thomas Nashe
Adieu, farewell, earth’s bliss;
This world uncertain is;
Fond are life’s lustful joys;
Death proves them all but toys;
None from his darts can fly;
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Rich men, trust not in wealth,
Gold cannot buy you health;
Physic himself must fade.
All things to end are made,
The plague full swift goes by;
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Beauty is but a flower
Which wrinkles will devour;
Brightness falls from the air;
Queens have died young and fair;
Dust hath closed Helen’s eye.
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Strength stoops unto the grave,
Worms feed on Hector brave;
Swords may not fight with fate,
Earth still holds ope her gate.
‘Come, come!’ the bells do cry.
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Wit with his wantonness
Tasteth death’s bitterness;
Hell’s executioner
Hath no ears for to hear
What vain art can reply.
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
Haste, therefore, each degree,
To welcome destiny;
Heaven is our heritage,
Earth but a player’s stage;
Mount we unto the sky.
I am sick, I must die.
Lord, have mercy on us!
The soundtrack to the award-winning film “Freeland” functions beautifully as an album in its own right, with stark, evocative instrumentals. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 7, 2021
NY outfit N to The Power cite Erik Satie, The Meters, and Steve Reich as influences, and you can hear it in their free-roaming songs. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 20, 2020
The first release on Cacophonous Revival, from experimentalist Samuel Goff, uses avant-garde approaches to get at personal narratives. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 4, 2020