submitted by Dorothea Czarnecki, La Antigua Guatemala, C.A.
submitted by Aaron Alon, Houston, TX
click to play: Breaking the Silence by Aaron Alon
I began work on Breaking the Silence knowing only that I wanted to write a piece about child abuse, a horrific social illness which is alarmingly pervasive in our society. Aside from writing a brief text – which is sung by the soprano, who represents a small child singing a children’s song of her own invention – I sought to have the direction and social statements of the piece guided by the interviews of survivors: the freely-spoken words and/or the writings they chose to share. These interviews compose the tape portion of the piece and tell, in words, stories more powerful than a writer could manufacture or a composer could mimic. My work on this piece allowed me to bring their stories together, to interweave them, always seeking to have their words understood, but allowing the audience to experience, through spoken vocal polyphony, the struggle of breaking the silence, of having one’s words heard. I am aware that the piece is controversial. My only hope is that the volunteers who shared their stories will gain from being heard and that this may help others to break their silence too.
The four survivors who were interviewed were Mike Migura, Michelle Fellow, “SafeAtLast,” and Anonymous. In live performance, the piece is performed in surround sound with a live soprano (Laura Botkin on this recording) and a soprano on tape (Angela Mortellaro).
submitted by Steven Adam ‘Joaquin’ Drake, Escondido, CA
Compelling To The Nights Shoring Up Wounds!
Through “Grapes of Wrath” villainy disdained!
-Marvel at magic’s alchemy-
For a silver thread up to Heaven’s Gate,
In poetic verse beyond restraints…
Tilling the soil in breadth of substantiation
In hearth of heartache’s relief.
Calling out of the distance echoed
Off walls of primordial affairs -stalled by
Compliance in depth of artist merits.
No longer mortified. But relied on… pictured
In breath of the air that we breathe sustained.
Flying through windows in safety’s eye of
The soul in sight of the spirit’s development.
Although, past those whom brutalize the
Innocence in birth of one’s own Rights
To live for sanctity’s beauty worn up
No body’s sleeve -transparently-
For causes of truth’s wisdom in thoughts
Mindful of who we are for Humanity’s Being.
Beyond ‘sly wits’ that manipulate laws -outside-
Of Peace of the sword… sworn by the word!
Double edged -slippery slope- in light of
Confessions discerned, forevermore, knocking
On hearts that beat the drums in cadence of art.
Compelling to the nights shoring up wounds in
Island dreams off the coast of continental divides.
Reaching out beyond despair, profound to those
Whom veritably care for the risk in bounty of
Enlightenment spared… for love beautified.
In nexus of test of countenance dared… for
No shadow of doubt for clarity realized here!
submitted by Tessa Jetson, Victoria, Melbourne
click to play: Every Day Is Getting Brighter by Tessa Jetson
submitted by Lavinia Terletchi, Toronto, ON, Canada
If you bothered to undress me, you’d see I have a heart too.
You are invited...
to submit to Break the Silence Project.
Break the Silence Project encourages the exploration of issues surrounding sexual violence through creative means in order to promote self-expression, to provide a possibility for healing and community-building, and to further raise public awareness and dialogue on these subjects.
Help raise awareness about sexual violence. Share your story, write a poem or a song, make a drawing or painting, take a picture, cut and paste... Whatever works for you.
Recent Comments
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