Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A personal reaction to the Chief Rabbi of Israel referring to Black People as "Monkeys"

With a little bit of imagination, we can take toyin's words below, and see how the same qualities of "magic" also apply to art. And I would venture, to the art of fela, and of great musicians and artists, of theatre and of film, as well. Especially performing artists have all the qualities you celebrate.

 

Remember socrates's notion of the magical intuition that sparked his thought, the gift of the gods. A slight shift, and you have figures like eshu, playful, without limits, and above all creative.

ken

 

Kenneth Harrow

Dept of English and Film Studies

Michigan State University

619 Red Cedar Rd

East Lansing, MI 48824

517-803-8839

harrow@msu.edu

http://www.english.msu.edu/people/faculty/kenneth-harrow/

From: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin.adepoju@gmail.com>
Reply-To: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Date: Saturday 24 March 2018 at 21:50
To: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - A personal reaction to the Chief Rabbi of Israel referring to Black People as "Monkeys"

Imagination, verbal affirmations, intuition, creativity, make believe,  the intersection of the inhabiting of alternative realities enabled by art in harmony with the discrimination between aspects of reality, may be seen as summing up this form of magic.

…

 

In this context, a lot of creativity, particularly in the arts, is a form of magic. Some of the best texts on magical theory and practice are works of imaginative literature, particularly from the West, fantasy children's literature being amongst my favorites along these lines.