{"id":175712,"date":"2020-12-28T12:01:07","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T12:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=175712"},"modified":"2020-12-24T09:40:56","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T09:40:56","slug":"can-you-hear-the-people-sing-global-responses-to-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2020\/12\/can-you-hear-the-people-sing-global-responses-to-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Hear the People Sing? Global Responses to the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Camilla Reeve (Ed.) <\/em>London: Palewell Press, 2020<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For many, the Covid 19 pandemic took loved ones and livelihoods away without discrimination.\u00a0 Yet for others, the confinement was a period in which some felt a sense that things could be better if all worked together instead of waiting for someone else to act.\u00a0 This feeling of ambiguity between loss and gain is expressed in the poem by Tom Alexander which gives the title to this collection of poems, taken from the theme music of the play Les Miserables:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “so many sing<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 It’s a different song<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Some higher, happier<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 some lower, more desperate than mine<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 flowing through these days and nights<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 a verse, a chorus – who can really say?”<\/em><\/p>\n

For some, the pandemic is a call to action and mutual help as expressed by Libaharan Ravindram Corona Poem:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Setting mutual aid communities up<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0In response to inadequate measures from the top.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0We seek solace in our interactions”<\/em><\/p>\n

For others, it is a period of waiting in uncertainty as Shanta Acharya writes In Lockdown:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “We pray for the tide to turn, our grief and joy postpone.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Everyday the news gets worse, we double our trust-<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0even this will pass, we cry, hanging on to our faith.”<\/em><\/p>\n

As the Lockdown takes people off the street, animals come forth and can be seen and heard, as Tina Morris says in A new Way of Living:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Do you listen to the birds<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0singing to you<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0because you have been chosen to stand among<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0them hearing their voices?”<\/em><\/p>\n

The same theme is expressed by Frank McMahon in It Was as If:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “We waited, looking sideways at each other,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0fed ourselves as best we could.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then we saw, as if we had new sight,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0that dew was making brushstrokes revealing<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0what we had overlooked – white blossom<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0of hornbeam and chestnut, the sky wiped<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0clear of mote and cloud. The land<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0filled with birdsong, larks and merwing kites.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Maria Cristina Azcona also sees a renewed Nature in To the Quarantine:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I lift my eyes to the clear sky<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Its blue colour is now limpid and pure<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Like a miracle in front of my eyes<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0A little bird sings to a possible future<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0And a green future will be the consolation<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0In any place and at every nation.”<\/em><\/p>\n

While most of this collection are poems, there a a few short prose pieces such as Boukra <\/em>by Dima Mekdad, a Syrian in exile in England and The Fantastic Mr Maj <\/em>by the Zimbabwean Taffy Nyawanza.<\/p>\n

This is a rich collection of reflections and observations, perhaps best summed up by another poem of Tina Morris Lockdown or LOCKED IN?:<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “In all this enforced space<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0and silence,<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0have we learned anything<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0about our selves<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0or are we chanting<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0the same old mantras<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0in well-practiced idiom?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in order to move on<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and joyfully, up<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 into the light of truth.”<\/em><\/p>\n

______________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em>Ren\u00e9 Wadlow is a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/a><\/em>. He <\/em>is President of the Association of World Citizens, an international peace organization with consultative status with ECOSOC, the United Nations organ facilitating international cooperation and problem-solving in economic and social issues, and editor of <\/em>Transnational Perspectives.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many, the Covid 19 pandemic took loved ones and livelihoods away without discrimination. Yet for others, the confinement was a period in which some felt a sense that things could be better if all worked together. This is a rich collection of poems with reflections and observations. [Camilla Reeve (Ed.) London: Palewell Press, 2020]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":115838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[182],"tags":[1829,1868,1864,868],"class_list":["post-175712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry-format","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19","tag-pandemic","tag-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}