Event Info
CreativeMornings/Victoria: "KISMET" with Marie Metaphor Specht
Monthly lecture series hosted by the Victoria Arts Council
11:00am - 12:00am
Free
Event Description
April's theme is KISMET. Join us online for a talk followed by Q&A with local poet, Marie Metaphor Specht.
Each of us are here in this particular time and place, thanks to a long series of loves, losses, chance encounters and near-misses stretching as far back as we care to look. Wherever our individual beliefs lie on the spectrum of chance vs. fate, we can acknowledge the sea of twisting circumstance behind us as we face whatever the future holds. Sometimes, if we’re paying attention, we get to appreciate singular moments in time that feel amplified, decisive and otherworldly: Moments that function as a crossroads in the narrative of our lives.
The word Kismet is derived from the Arabic word, qisma, meaning “portion” or “lot”. When we think of Kismet as a predestined outcome of an event or series of events, the question becomes: What, of all this collective living, actually belongs to us? What can we claim as our own? And if you are an artist: What is it to create here, in this particular physical and temporal location?
Like any committed artist, the process of laying claim to my own creative voice has involved both steady work and intentional, on-going reflection. After all, what is art if not a deep listening to self? Throughout this continuous process of intentional becoming, there have also been watershed moments, points of light that shine a little brighter in the narrative. Moments that feel as though they were handed to me by someone else while simultaneously being written on my bones by my own hand. Moments that have quietly but firmly, nudged me in a new direction. Moments I recognize and claim as my own.
About this month's speaker:
Marie Metaphor Specht is a multidisciplinary artist and poet living on the traditional territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən speaking peoples. The vocabulary of the sea, the chlorophyll dialects of the forest and the anchor of this soil are integral to her work. Marie’s poetry has been published in anthologies and journals both in-print and online. In addition to her independent work, Marie has collaborated with musicians, film-makers and lighting technicians to create elaborate and often interactive works. She has performed at a wide variety of venues ranging from festivals and interdisciplinary arts events to literary events and poetry slams, and has been coaching youth poets for over a decade. Whatever form her work takes, Marie leads with compassion as she composes moments of nourishing intimacy and connection. She believes in reckless acts of beauty. She believes in the power of stories shared.
Fri. April 29th 2022
Online
Online Event
