This is a Self in Small Form

8.11.15  |  This is a Self in Small Form

Listened to the poet Elizabeth Alexander speak about the loss of her husband today which she writes about in her new memoir, “The Light of the World.” Since his death, she says she has become the  unexpected collector of objects, stories, and letters from others reaching out in sympathy. At one point she mentions a miniature poetry manuscript that she was given in a small glass bottle “…that is definitely written through fire, written from the soul, written from the heart. I carry it with me now because it’s a beautiful, tiny object. I think it has talismanic powers and because this is someone’s — this is a self in small form.”

These words blew me away. The idea that a self could be written into words, or perhaps painted or drawn…I love this thought and can’t stop thinking about it myself.