{"id":766,"date":"2014-09-12T00:00:30","date_gmt":"2014-09-12T00:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/mission-and-identity\/?p=766"},"modified":"2019-09-18T16:50:12","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T20:50:12","slug":"sept-12-this-years-poet-at-celebrate-spirit-fatemeh-keshavarz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2014\/09\/12\/sept-12-this-years-poet-at-celebrate-spirit-fatemeh-keshavarz\/","title":{"rendered":"Sept 12 – This Year’s Poet at “Celebrate Spirit” – Fatemeh Keshavarz"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday, September 12 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cMy city is that cup of sunshine. . .\u201d<\/p>\n

The most powerful moment in\u00a0“Celebrate Spirit\u201d for me? \u00a0The entrance procession. \u00a0We prepare a raised space on the gym floor. \u00a0Six UDM men and women carry 12 foot banners with matching streamers and large medallions where cross bars meet carrying poles. \u00a0The medallions carry symbols of six great world religions \u2014 Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. \u00a0The bearers fit the banners in anchor stands to create a visual frame at the back of the platform. \u00a0The Mass of the Holy Spirit begins, a tradition at Catholic Universities for hundreds of years blessing the academic year. \u00a0 This choreography moves me year after year: \u00a0“This is who we are. \u00a0We claim our Catholic faith. \u00a0We claim our identity as welcoming citizens of the wide world in all its beauty and depth of purpose.” \u00a0 \u00a0Doesn\u2019t get any better than that for me. \u00a0Dr. Achmat Salie, Director of UDM\u2019s Islamic Studies Program, introduced Professor Fatemeh Keshavarz, this year\u2019s speaker.<\/p>\n

Professor Keshavarz, University of Maryland\u2019s Roshan Chair of Persian Studies, is a poet and a scholar. \u00a0She welcomed us into our academic year by reading a poem she wrote a few days before September 11, 2001 \u2014 before she or we knew about the 9-11 attacks on New York, Washington DC and a field in western Pennsylvania. \u00a0 On this year\u2019s anniversary of 9-11 \u201cBefore the Cosmic Blast\u2026and After<\/strong>\u201d locates that violence in a vast universe of creative intensity and serenity. \u00a0 \u00a0If you were not there yesterday, and even if you were, it\u2019s worth reading again (http:\/\/danmurano.com\/poetry\/fatemeh-keshavarz<\/a>) out loud.<\/p>\n

This week began for the Jesuits with the burial of Fr. Mike Evans, sj and changed tone with yesterday\u2019s blessing mass.<\/p>\n

Besides, the sun has come out to play with us on the last work day of the week, pretty sweet.<\/p>\n

Have a great weekend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post<\/b><\/p>\n

Here is another of Fatema Keshavarz\u2019s poems; she celebrates her love for her home city in Iran. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Shiraz has lived as a center for art and beauty for c. 4000 years. \u00a0In her poem by the same name,\u00a0Professor Keshavarz exults in the beauty of her ancient home. \u00a0Wikipedia tells me that “The oldest sample of wine in the world, dating to approximately 7,000 years ago, was discovered on clay jars recovered outside of Shiraz.”\u00a0\u00a0Detroit is only 313 years old but I am using the poem\u00a0to celebrate Motown today. \u00a0Lift a glass when you get off work.<\/p>\n

“Shiraz”<\/strong>
\nHeld up to gods
\nIn the palm of a giant’s hands
\nA rare handcrafted marble cup
\nBrimming with sunshine
\nDefined at the outer edges
\nWith tall cypress trees
\nThat line up at dawn reverently
\nTo interpret the horizons
\nIn their meticulous green thoughts
\n***
\nMy city is
\nThat cup of sunshine
\nI can drink to the last drop
\nAnd be thirsty for more.<\/p>\n

Shiraz, Dec.21, 2000<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The altar for Celebrate Spirit, Callahan Hall<\/p>\n

\"CelebrateSpirit\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday, September 12 \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cMy city is that cup of sunshine. . .\u201d The most powerful moment in\u00a0“Celebrate Spirit\u201d for me? \u00a0The entrance procession. \u00a0We prepare a raised space on the gym floor. \u00a0Six UDM men and women carry 12 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":776,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766\/revisions\/776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}