How To Exist, An Impractical Guide
Como Existir, Guía Impráctica
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
See some included artworks in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO73X3e6Ss I'm running like an underground river. Sometimes I surface to form lakes in peaceful and sunny areas, But underneath I continue to run into deep and dark places, Occasionally carrying toxic sedimentation Other times I form rapids, Noisy and foaming at the mouth, But ultimately harmless The trick is to keep running freely Without destroying the landscape It's not easy but I'm trying. And, you? What’s going on with you? ¿Qué está pasando contigo? Thanks to the editors
Lisa Murphy-Lamb and Yanixa Rondon and to Sean Smith for this book
review.
How to Answer the Question: “What’s going on with you?”
Como Responder la Pregunta: ¿Qué está pasando contigo?
Estoy corriendo como río subterráneo.
A veces salgo a la superficie y formo lagos en zonas tranquilas y soleadas,
Pero debajo sigo corriendo en lugares oscuros y profundos,
En ocasiones llevo sedimentos tóxicos
Otras veces formo rápidos,
Ruidosos y con espuma en la boca,
Pero ultimadamente inofensivos
El truco es seguir corriendo libremente
Sin destruir el paisaje
No es fácil, pero estoy tratando.
¿Y, tú?
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Book Details
About the Book
At its core, How To Exist, An Impractical Guide / Como Existir, Guía Impráctica is a book of poetry and love (amor). Penned by Lorena B. Fernández, in its pages may be found love in multiple forms: compassionate love, erotic love, friendship love, but first and foremost a love of self. Not the self as a singular, but the self as a locus of sensation and movement from which relations emerge. But who is this self, then, that is Fernández? Naturally, it is a multiple self that we are describing: poet, artist, woman, mother, daughter, student, expressive arts therapist, Latin American, to name but a few.
How To Exist,
An Impractical Guide / Como Existir, Guía Impráctica becomes a
polyrhythmic call to the reader. The recurring theme of the book is the
search for meaning in life, and here lies perhaps that most
impractical aspect of the book: the quest. But Fernández doesn't leave the reader alone or singular in this regard: in the
introduction to the book she expressly encourages the reader to become a traveler too, to transform the impractical into the
practical through poetry and art. Not simply to be a traveler, actually, but rather a guide through words, colors and forms on
one's own journey to meaning. The quest becomes a question:
how to exist? There might not be a destination in sight, nor even one
to be found, but the journey "in the eternal minute / of the
present / awaiting" will have been worth every step taken if only the
call is answered.
See included artworks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO73X3e6Ss
Read Amazon customer reviews and see some other artworks
About the Author
Lorena Fernandez was born and raised in Merida, Venezuela. After obtaining her university degree in the USA, she worked in Singapore for seven years as an artist and Engineer, consistently writing poems and making art about her inner life. Lorena is a painter, poet, writer and sculpture. She strongly believes in the power of art to elucidate the human experience and as an agent for healing and social change. She has kept a journal since she was eleven years old from which all her creative works arise: her poems, short stories, paintings and sculptures. Lorena is pursuing a Ph.D. from the European Graduate School in Switzerland, EGS. She has a Masters of Arts in the Humanities from California State University Dominguez Hills and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University. She resides in Houston, Texas, together with her husband and two daughters. Visit her website at: http://www.lfcreative.com
Lorena Fernández nació y creció en Mérida, Venezuela. Después de obtener su título universitario en los Estados Unidos, trabajó en Singapur durante siete años como artista e ingeniero; constantemente escribiendo poemas y haciendo arte sobre su vida interior. Lorena es una pintora, poeta, escritora y escultora. Es una firme creyente en el poder del arte para esclarecer la experiencia humana y como agente para la curación personal y el cambio social. Lorena ha mantenido un diario desde los once años del cual surgen todas sus obras creativas: sus poemas, relatos, pinturas y esculturas. Lorena esta realizando un Ph.D. en la Escuela de Posgrado en Suiza EGS. Tiene una Maestría en Humanidades de la Universidad Estatal de California Domínguez Hills y un Bachelor De Ciencias en Ingeniería Industrial de La Universidad Texas A&M. Lorena reside en Houston, Texas, con su esposo y dos hijas.