“That Which Binds Us”
Collaborators’ Q&A
Why did this piece of art resonate for you or seem like it would give you an avenue into writing about Typhoon Haiyan?
Poet Matthew Caretti: Empathy. Humans are hard-wired to respond when we see others in distress. I connected immediately with the man in Cheryl’s drawing—the anguish of his posture, the troubled prayers of his hands. These images, along with the color blue, guided my process and helped me to contextualize the tragic events surrounding Typhoon Haiyan.
What do you think is the role of art in regards to real-world, real-time events? In other words, what makes a “successful” occasional or political piece of writing or art?
Poet Matthew Caretti: Again, it is this reality of our human interconnectedness—that which binds us. So a successful piece links the audience empathically to the content of the piece and inspires an action (or a response), whether internal or external.