{"id":150106,"date":"2020-12-21T13:53:45","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T18:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=150106"},"modified":"2020-12-21T14:03:48","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T19:03:48","slug":"the-art-of-distance-no-38","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/21\/the-art-of-distance-no-38\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Distance No. 38"},"content":{"rendered":"

In March,<\/em>\u00a0The Paris Review\u00a0launched<\/em>\u00a0The Art of Distance, a newsletter highlighting unlocked archive pieces that resonate with the staff of<\/em>\u00a0the magazine<\/em>, quarantine-appropriate writing on the<\/em>\u00a0Daily, resources from our peer organizations,<\/em>\u00a0and more. Read Emily Nemens\u2019s introductory letter\u00a0here<\/a>, and find the latest unlocked archive selections below.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2009\u2018O winter closing down on our separate shells,\u2019 Diane di Prima writes in her poem \u2018Rondeau for the Yule<\/a>.\u2019 As many of us have been ensconced in our separate shells for most of this year\u2014and as many East Coasters got a white shell of snow to cap that of the pandemic\u2014Di Prima\u2019s closing line struck a loud chord in this reader. With the year winding down, I felt another peal at Eavan Boland\u2019s \u2018Inscriptions<\/a>,\u2019 a poem that begins in \u2018holiday rooms\u2019 but cannot ignore \u2018the deaths in alleys and on doorsteps,\u2009\/\u2009happening ninety miles away from my home.\u2019 Beyond their prescience, these poems are notable in that both of these poets passed away in 2020. In this time of incalculable loss, I wanted to conclude the year\u2019s Art of Distance with work from some <\/em>Paris Review contributors to whom we said goodbye this year. Whether you\u2019re spending the holidays with family or with a good book, I hope this reading, and remembering the remarkable work of these writers, brightens the weeks ahead. We\u2019ll be back in January.\u201d \u2014EN<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

George Steiner.<\/p><\/div>\n

Marvin Bell<\/a>: \u201cThen it is dark. The great streak of sunlight\u2009\/\u2009that showed our side of snowy peaks has gone ahead.\u201d <\/p>\n

Eavan Boland<\/a>: \u201cTo write about age you need to take something and\u2009\/\u2009break it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kamau Brathwaite<\/a>: \u201cNow bones once soft become rumble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diane di Prima<\/a>: \u201cWe are built for the exotic, we americans, this landscape leaves us\u2009\/\u2009as open as a piece of chocolate cream pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

John le Carr\u00e9<\/a>: \u201cI play around endlessly with the beginning and the middle, but the end is always a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Derek Mahon<\/a>: \u201cLet\u2019s just say that you must, in order not to go mad, be able to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael McClure<\/a>: \u201cWe are survivors\u2009\/\u2009of the Future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jan Morris<\/a>: \u201cI thought that the restlessness I was possessed by was, perhaps, some yearning, not so much for the sake of escape as for the sake of quest: a quest for unity, a search for wholeness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisel Mueller<\/a>: \u201cWhat I see is an aberration\u2009\/\u2009caused by old age, an affliction.\u201d<\/p>\n

K\u0119stutis Navakas<\/a>: \u201cyou\u2019re home. eating lentils. talking to your\u2009\/\u2009loved one. you\u2019re abroad. eating lentils. talking to\u2009\/\u2009your loved one. you\u2019re not yourself. you\u2019ve been stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n

George Steiner<\/a>: \u201cThe exciting distance of a great interpretation is the failure, the distance, where it is helpless. But its helplessness is dynamic, is itself suggestive, eloquent and articulate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne Stevenson<\/a>: \u201cHug me, mother of noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sign up\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to receive a fresh installment of The Art of Distance in your inbox every Monday.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s The Art of Distance pays tribute to \u2018Paris Review\u2019 contributors who died in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63638],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-art-of-distance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Art of Distance No. 38 by The Paris Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This week\u2019s The Art of Distance pays tribute to \u2018Paris Review\u2019 contributors who died in 2020.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/21\/the-art-of-distance-no-38\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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