October didn’t rush by. I haven’t been here on this blog, either. It’s been less writer-focused, more a time to attend to the rush of things that call for me to show up.
Like the carpool—I have shown up for carpool. People who know me in the real world appreciate I’d rather walk. If the carpool is a metaphor, it’s about the import of acknowledgement of what’s needed and the grace, which comes from attending to exactly that.
Attention happens near and far about things near and far. To that end, I hope very much to make it to WAM’s production of “In Darfur” because this play addresses far (but was written by Winter Miller, a Smith alumna, so a tiny hit of near, too and in the nearby Berkshires). Directed by Kristen Van GinHoven it’s the New England Premiere. There’s importance to attempts to reach all the way across the world to give voice to problems that could remain invisible. Perhaps the Berkshires seem an unlikely venue for that. Perhaps, the Berkshires are exactly the venue for that. To care shouldn’t have borders. The play, like its subject matter, is reportedly quite intense—posted as a fair heads-up. Two matinees were just added, so the vote is overwhelmingly that it’s worth the intensity to be invited to learn more and feel more about this genocide so far away yet so urgently within our reach to address.
Twenty-five percent of the WAM’s proceeds will be donated to Mother of Peace orphanage in Illovo, South Africa, where 13 women have dedicated their lives to raising children who have lost their families.
