Escape Into Life: Issue No.29

The Mona Lisa::  Self Portrait?

EIL would like to take this opportunity to thank retiring contributor Simon Kartar whose flash fiction and editorial work has inspired reader and staff alike.

Oscar Niemeyer: Architect of the People . . . features the exalting and energetic constructs of one hundred and three-year-old Oscar Niemeyer, a committed socialist whose architectural designs express the hopefulness and inclusivity of his philosophical views. Intensely colored and urgent shapes arc into the sky in sweeping curves reminiscent of balletic pas de deux extensions.

The Poetry of Dustin Junkert . . . This week many of us can relate to this line from the aptly named poem How We Show Our Gratitude: “Nothing is louder than snow falling on the roof in the middle of the night.” The drop step honesty of his verse is a perfect compliment to the intense and variable emotions invoked by the holiday season.

Art News Headlines . . . Laura Lawson brings us mini-essays on tremors in the art world. From the gentle animal painting expected to fetch 80,000 dollars at auctions to the seismic shudders caused by recent discoveries of numerical inscriptions hidden in the Mona Lisa’s mysterious eyes, Lawson finds the fault lines behind the scenes of artistic endeavors around the globe.

Art Videos: Evan Grant and Seeper Collective . . . The artistically immersive work that makes buildings dance, explode, and crumble, is recorded in intriguing video works from Seeper Collective. See stunning examples and an interview with Grant here at EIL.

Music Review: Come Around Sundown by Kings of Leon . . . Few things bring more pleasure to a solstice evening than a new music performance that harvests the warmth of the year and brings it home for hearthside listening. The new album from Kings of Leon, was released with little fanfare and those who are fans of their classic hit “Sex on Fire” will be happy to see new work.

Stacy Ericson is an editor and photographer who has beenwriting poetry since she was a child.Her work often reflects her interest in other cultures, ancient languages and religion, and visceral passions. She says “To me poetry is a very serious undertaking involving studying poets that have gone before, the changing styles and goals of different time periods, specific imagery, unexpected juxtapositions, and a consciousness of meter and trope.”