Culture Creating

Hildegard of Bingen

Today is Earth Day, a global invitation to grow in awareness of our shared ecosystem which holds all life. I thought I’d share these beautiful words/images from medieval mystic, Benedictine abbess, artist, theologian, and poet, Hildegard von Bingen. Hildegard was

Dwight J. Friesen April 22, 2006September 21, 2022

“God’s Grandeur”

I’ve gone on prayers walks; I’ve gone on semiotic walks; I’ve gone on nature walks but until this morning I had never even heard of poetry walks. Paul Steinke guided a number of us into one of Gerard Manley Hopkins’

Dwight J. Friesen March 29, 2006August 31, 2022

metaphor of movement

The following quote is from Eugene Peterson’s, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology.  Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005, 337-8. For some reason I feel compelled to share it… enjoy! Peace, dwight “Rick Bass,

Dwight J. Friesen March 28, 2006May 12, 2022

“Failing and Flying”

Failing and Flying by Jack Gilbert Everyone forgets that Icarus also flew. It’s the same when love comes to an end, or the marriage fails and people say they knew it was a mistake, that everybody said it would never

Dwight J. Friesen February 10, 2006September 20, 2022

Beauty

Artist Ed Traub recently passed a great quote on to me from Mark Rothko’s book: Artist’s Reality: Philosophies of Art. “Like the old ideal of God, the abstraction itself in its nakedness is never directly apprehensible to us. As in

Dwight J. Friesen January 28, 2006May 12, 2022

“I Made a Lot of Mistakes”

Chicago by Sufjan Stevens I fell in love again All things go, all things go Drove to Chicago All things know, all things know We sold our clothes to the state I don’t mind, I don’t mind I made a

Dwight J. Friesen December 9, 2005November 9, 2022

Living & Loving the Questions

I wasn’t raised with the wirings and poetry of Rilke, but I am sure grateful to have been introduced to them. The following is arguably one of his best known quotes, yet I had to post it. It is just

Dwight J. Friesen December 4, 2005September 30, 2022

room for superman?

Superman is scheduled to make a comeback in 2006.  In the wake of the recent “back-story” Spiderman and Batman movies some critics are asking if there is room for an Übermensch “overman” (Superman).  It certainly will be interesting to see

Dwight J. Friesen October 15, 2005May 8, 2022

a poem for labor day

Things to Thinkby Robert Bly Think in ways you’ve never thought before. If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message Larger than anything you’ve ever heard, Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats. Think that someone may

Dwight J. Friesen September 4, 2005October 1, 2022

Dance Me to the End of Love

Take a moment (six minutes) to view this short film, “Dance Me to the End of Love” by director Aaron Goffman. Featuring the music of Leonard Cohen and starring Quentin Tarantino, Sylvia Binsfeld. Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen August 21, 2005October 3, 2022

shortcut

Scandinavian artists Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset titled this piece “Short Cut.”  What do you see? peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen July 19, 2005September 30, 2022

catching for all

Catch What You’ve Thrown Yourself by Rainer Maria Rilke As long as you catch what you’ve thrown yourself, it’s all just clever agility and venial gain; but when you suddenly come to catch a ball an eternal playmate has thrown

Dwight J. Friesen July 10, 2005October 12, 2022

Secret Postcards

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend you invest a few moments looking some of the thousands of postcards posted on this site. Part of the reason I love it so much is that it reminds me that

Dwight J. Friesen July 3, 2005May 7, 2022

canada day

Even after living in the United States of America for fifteen years, it still strikes me as odd when July 1st rolls around. You see north of the 49th parallel Canadians celebrate Canada Day while I simply go about my

Dwight J. Friesen July 1, 2005October 3, 2022

more on batman

I want to say a bit more regarding yesterday’s batman no more post. Bruce Wayne was certainly striving to be compassionate, in fact Batman’s compassion one of the key themes of the film. Liam Neesson’s character saw Bruce Wayne’s compassion

Dwight J. Friesen June 25, 2005May 8, 2022

batman no more

Lynette and I just watched Batman Begins and while I watched the film I couldn’t help but think of the protestant reformation.  Was I watching Bruce Wayne or Martin Luther and John Calvin – frankly they seem so similar. The storyline is of

Dwight J. Friesen June 24, 2005May 8, 2022

creation . . . “comedy central”

For a few days I’ve been sitting the question: “how can I better understand and enter into the narrative of church?”  This question took me back to Greek theater, represented by the masks.  I find myself wondering whether the narrative of

Dwight J. Friesen June 21, 2005October 3, 2022

Making Peace

Making Peace by Denise Levertov (1923-1997) A voice from the dark called out, “The poets must give us imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar imagination of disaster. Peace, not only the absence of war.” But peace, like a poem,

Dwight J. Friesen June 20, 2005May 7, 2022

pivotal art of the 20th C.

Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 by Marcel Duchamp oil on canvas, 1912146 x 89 cmPhiladelphia Museum of Art Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen June 14, 2005October 3, 2022

Lovin’ Da Web

I’ve been checking out some of the many video bloggers out there.  vspan.blogspot.com  www.michaelverdi.com crule.typepad.com annieee.blogspot.com www.rocketboom.com Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen June 11, 2005January 15, 2021

artist disclaimer

“In the beginning God created” Those first words of the book of Genesis hint something of God’s artistic nature. Ours is a God who delights in the intricacies of the pedal of a flower growing on the side of a

Dwight J. Friesen June 11, 2005October 3, 2022

there is a community of the spirit

A Community of the Spirit by Rumi There is a community of the spirit. Join it, and feel the delight of walking in the noisy street and being the noise. Drink all your passion, and be a disgrace. Close both

Dwight J. Friesen June 10, 2005October 3, 2022

The God Day

The God Day by Lynette Friesen  I came to him  Open to the pain of my sin  The regret and remorse  The fall-on-your-knees cries of failure      Wanting to seek what he has for me  Knowing I come so

Dwight J. Friesen June 10, 2005December 11, 2020

Re-Design

OK – so its time for a bit of a site redesign.  I’m still creating all the links and transferring the files but until that is completed the following link will let you navigate my former site. What you are

Dwight J. Friesen June 8, 2005October 4, 2022

Park (in four panels)

“Park”by dwight j. friesen

Dwight J. Friesen June 1, 2005January 15, 2021

happy birthday Lynette

On this day, the birthday of my life partner. I want offer a poem that makes me think of her every time I read, hear or even think of it. Its by the brilliant poet Billy Collins… whose work I

Dwight J. Friesen May 27, 2005September 20, 2022

tension

“Tension“ by dwight friesen part of the Will Mapel collection.

Dwight J. Friesen May 11, 2005January 15, 2021

meanwhile . . .

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good.  You do not have to walk on your knees  for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.  You only have to let the soft animal of your body 

Dwight J. Friesen May 10, 2005December 11, 2020

broken

“Broken“ by dwight j. friesen

Dwight J. Friesen April 11, 2005January 15, 2021

“The Journey”

Somehow I sense that this might this connect with yesterday’s post?! The Journey by Mary Oliver One day you finally knewwhat you had to do, and began,though the voices around youkept shoutingtheir bad advice –though the whole housebegan to trembleand

Dwight J. Friesen March 31, 2005May 7, 2022