Australian rocker Nick Cave, Native American activist/poet John Trudell, and a 14th-century Japanese shogun have thoughts about how to put ourselves back together through art
This is perhaps the most profound and moving writing I’ve read in years. The way you weave the stories together in a slow reveal demonstrates masterful design of craft. Knowing that this story was generated within you at a point of massive heartbreak over the loss of your father adds a depth of soul that brought me to tears. Thank you for making me think and feel and realize so much on a rainy Saturday morning at a point of my life in which I have so much to be grateful.
Oh, Catherine, thank you for the lovely note. In its own way, it validates what I'm most trying to do here - use art to talk about life and life to talk about art. It's some sort of art existentialism, I think, or so I aspire.
Thank you so much for the lovely note. I'd wanted to write about Cave's story for a while, but it wasn't until I realized that I could juxtapose it with Trudell's that I found a reason to justify the time. I'm glad to hear it resonated with you.
I’d just like to echo what has already been said here. This is a beautiful and moving piece. That its themes and structure mirror each other so beautifully is also incredibly clever. I loved it!
I am late to this and catching up on my Substack reading. I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole too many times.
Thank you for your beautiful kaleidoscope of stories. John Trudell, Nick Cave and Kintsugi are all major influences in my philosophy. You put them together beautifully like the Kintsugi that they are. Again, thank you.
Oh man. This one hits, Cole. I can imagine sutures of gold among all of us. A compassionate recognition of brokenness and healing and repair everywhere. Even the earth’s tectonic plates joined by veins of gold instead of lava.
Thank you for the lovely note and imagery, Jose. I'm very glad to discover others found anything meaningful in this piece. I decide to write these things out of personal need, so it's a constant act of discovery for me about what lands for others.
This was a beautiful and amazingly put together post, to see everything intercut and put together and yet of course all the same human hurt-art story. Is it a kind of kintsugi on the cover of Psalms for the End of the World?
Thank you for the lovely note, Harvey. The cover of PSALMS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD is kept intentionally vague, but my personal note there was that the designer would focus on the threads of multiversal time, the river/flowing water theme, in the book. How these rivers intersect, merge, and divide. As you probably noticed, I use a similar approach to narrative - non-linear, thematically-focused, with my essay writing, too.
Thanks, John. If she doesn't know the album 'Ghosteen' from Cave & the Bad Seeds, I highly encourage it. It's a strange form of emotional immersion in someone's grief that in some way helps you find purchase in your own.
This is perhaps the most profound and moving writing I’ve read in years. The way you weave the stories together in a slow reveal demonstrates masterful design of craft. Knowing that this story was generated within you at a point of massive heartbreak over the loss of your father adds a depth of soul that brought me to tears. Thank you for making me think and feel and realize so much on a rainy Saturday morning at a point of my life in which I have so much to be grateful.
Oh, Catherine, thank you for the lovely note. In its own way, it validates what I'm most trying to do here - use art to talk about life and life to talk about art. It's some sort of art existentialism, I think, or so I aspire.
Beautiful writing and storytelling! I love the serendipity between Nick Cave and John Trudell that you display here. Great work. :)
Thank you so much for the lovely note. I'd wanted to write about Cave's story for a while, but it wasn't until I realized that I could juxtapose it with Trudell's that I found a reason to justify the time. I'm glad to hear it resonated with you.
I’d just like to echo what has already been said here. This is a beautiful and moving piece. That its themes and structure mirror each other so beautifully is also incredibly clever. I loved it!
Thank you for the lovely note, Lou. I wasn't sure how this would land with readers. I'm glad it seems to be resonating!
I am late to this and catching up on my Substack reading. I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole too many times.
Thank you for your beautiful kaleidoscope of stories. John Trudell, Nick Cave and Kintsugi are all major influences in my philosophy. You put them together beautifully like the Kintsugi that they are. Again, thank you.
Thank you for the lovely note, Cecilia. And thank you very much for reading.
🌞
Oh man. This one hits, Cole. I can imagine sutures of gold among all of us. A compassionate recognition of brokenness and healing and repair everywhere. Even the earth’s tectonic plates joined by veins of gold instead of lava.
Thank you for the lovely note and imagery, Jose. I'm very glad to discover others found anything meaningful in this piece. I decide to write these things out of personal need, so it's a constant act of discovery for me about what lands for others.
Great work, Cole. Wrote a similar “broken” theme on the old WP site called “Hector.” Haven’t looked at it in forever.
Thanks, my friend!
Gosh 😭
Mission accomplished...I think. Heh.
So many big emotions in this. Love the connections between the stories.
Thank you. I just wait for stories to intersect in my imagination. They eventually find their way to each other, I find.
Yeah totally. The brain does the work in the background.
This was a beautiful and amazingly put together post, to see everything intercut and put together and yet of course all the same human hurt-art story. Is it a kind of kintsugi on the cover of Psalms for the End of the World?
Thank you for the lovely note, Harvey. The cover of PSALMS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD is kept intentionally vague, but my personal note there was that the designer would focus on the threads of multiversal time, the river/flowing water theme, in the book. How these rivers intersect, merge, and divide. As you probably noticed, I use a similar approach to narrative - non-linear, thematically-focused, with my essay writing, too.
Yeah I see and have noticed. It's a nice coincidence then that the Goldsboro cover is gold lines in the blue.
Beautifully written. I hope I know the right time to share this with my widowed daughter.
Thanks, John. If she doesn't know the album 'Ghosteen' from Cave & the Bad Seeds, I highly encourage it. It's a strange form of emotional immersion in someone's grief that in some way helps you find purchase in your own.
Lovely synthesis of art and artists and grief. Thank you!
Thanks, Renée!
Wow. So powerful. My spouse died over thirty yrs ago, quickly, from lung cancer. I still mourn him but found resonance in these lyrics. Thank you.
I'm glad to hear anything about this piece spoke to you, Celinda. Thank you for reading.
"life is mostly spent putting ourselves back together" is a good and true observation by Mr. Cave
I'm glad it resonated with you. Thank you for reading.
Love this piece Cole. Now I have a new art form to learn — kintsugi. Also reminded me of Kylo Ren’s helmet.
Thanks, John!
Thank you for this. So beautiful and so human and so true.
You're welcome, Sally. I both hate the scars I've accumulated and draw comfort from what they've provided me.