Hasta La Gadget!

The speech ‘Our revels now are ended’ is famous as Shakespeare’s farewell address to us, his audience. It is usually delivered indirectly to the theater audience by the retiring magician Prospero near the end of The Tempest , the last play written entirely by Shakespeare and written at the end of his career. The retiring magician of the theater has a retiring magician speak for him on stage. Though only 11 lines, that speech has a theme aside from how it fits into the play. Does it not behoove us to understand the parting message from the greatest writer, certainly in the English language, and maybe in the history of literature?

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. — The Tempest, Act 4 Scene 1

Of all the possible themes for a valedictory speech, Shakespeare chose this one. Perhaps the best analogy for the speech is a Buddhist sermon. An emphasis on the evanescence of all things is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Buddhism. “Impermanence” is the first of the Buddha’s “Three Marks of Existence.”

Shakespeare’s art form allowed him to deliver his message more indelibly than even poetry, because this is also a demonstration. The language is plain, simple, and direct so that it won’t distract from what Prospero is doing. The world of the play has “melted into air,” was made of “baseless fabric,” and was an “insubstantial pageant.” He can emphasize each of these characterizations by gesturing toward the void on the stage created by the absence of the actors. The stage void stands in for the ultimate void. Likewise all of creation, even the listed most substantial examples, will some day “dissolve.” A “rack” is a wisp of cloud.

The speech is delivered as an aside after a play-within-the-play. Prospero breaks away from a fit of anger to address the speech to his new son-in-law. At its end, Prospero breaks away from the speech when he suddenly feels faint. That the speech is an aside isolates and emphasizes it, which suggests the importance of its theme to Shakespeare.

He is not necessarily saying there is no God or afterlife or that life isn’t worth living because of the devouring void. He’s simply saying that someday, eventually, any material thing that you can imagine will be just as it was before it came into existence. Everything that has a beginning has an end. It is a truth profound, obvious, and irrelevant to any practical human concern. It is also, today, potentially scientifically provable. Some physicists suggest the universe must inevitably disappear due to proton decay.

Ecclesiastes has poetry about the ephemerality of creation. “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever,” (except Shakespeare says it too “shall dissolve”). Walt Whitman’s poem “Sparkles from the Wheel” is a modernist take on the theme of the Shakespeare speech.

In the 1960s, the speech was featured in a cartoon by the great satirical cartoonist Lou Myers. He had a cockroach recite it. That’s all. No explanation. However, there was a rumor back then, possibly an urban legend, that the cockroach is the only creature capable of surviving a nuclear Armageddon, the ultimate melting-into-thin-air.

Even Fox News is backing away from Indiana’s anti-LGBT law. Fox anchor Bret Baier told “Happening Now” host Eric Shawn that the Indiana law is far broader than either the federal “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” signed in 1993 or RFRAs in 19 other states — one of Indiana governor Mike Pence’s talking points in defending the measure.

“Indiana’s law deals with a person who can claim religious persecution but that includes corporations, for profit entities and it could also be used as a defense in a civil suit that does not involve the government,” Baier explained. “That is broader than the other laws.”

Indiana’s law “may embolden individuals and businesses who now feel that their religious liberty is ‘burdened’ by treating a member of the LGBT community equally and that their ‘burden’ trumps others’ rights to be free from discrimination,” Baier added.

Indiana’s RFRA stands among a host of bills critics say invite discrimination against LGBT folk. While the federal RFRA prohibits government from placing a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion, Indiana’s law extends that rule to corporations and individuals as well.

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Gabriel Arana is senior media editor at The Huffington Post.

Follow @gabrielarana

In this second installment of my conversation with Carey Salerno, Executive Editor of Alice James Books, a cooperative poetry press with an emphasis on women writers, Carey shares some additional insights on the future of publishing and achieving success as a writer.

I’m thrilled to be working with Carey in her role as literary arts curator for Pen and Brush, in which she is reviewing works by excellent female writers for publication. To learn more about how to submit, visit www.PenandBrush.org.

JS: You review and publish a diversity of poets at Alice James Books (AJB). Do you believe this model can be adapted to the publishing industry as a whole? What do you believe the future of publishing holds in the next few years?

CS: We do publish a broad range of voices, yes, and this model could absolutely be applied elsewhere, though to a degree, it takes a high level of attentiveness in one’s list to accomplish diversity. We are able to do it as a boutique publisher, because we focus on publishing just six books of poetry a year.

As far as the future is concerned, I continue to place all my chips down for the physical book. It is an entity that can be imitated but not absolutely replicated, so I don’t believe it will ever be rendered obsolete. I do think that readers are going to continue to demand high quality from their book publishers, as they become more and more choosy about what they buy to place on their shelves. AJB strives to publish books with the highest level of complimentary aesthetics for a book’s respective texts. It’s been a high priority of mine since coming to AJB in 2008 to continually raise the bar for the physical poetry book. We work very closely with our designers to achieve the production of volumes that are harmonious and that please and enliven readers. There is an experience to opening a book for the first time, to running one’s hand over the cover, to dog-earring its pages, and to coming across it on one’s bookshelf over and again. We want to enhance that experience. The future of book publishing is, to some degree the same as it has always been, about creating work that people will deeply cherish.

JS: What advice would you like to give to emerging or mid-career writers?

CS: My advice to both groups would be the same; follow your gut and find a trusted editor. It is incredibly important, especially for women, to heed this first piece of advice, since really how many times a day are we asked to ignore our instincts? Women are incredibly susceptible to dismissing their feelings, because we are taught they aren’t of value or use to us. They are not practical. We are often conditioned to value logic, which of course has its place, but really is the exhaust pipe of poetic endeavor.

After instinct brings you to your work, your own heart, your own vision, your own stake in the world, then find someone who you love and trust that can give you critique–and allow yourself to take the critique. Feedback is a critical element in the artistic process, as art is a communication between individuals: the creator and the audience. Feedback on our work gives us checks and balances. It helps us affirm that we are saying what we are trying to say, how we are trying to say it. It’s hard to produce art in a vacuum. At the same time, don’t create for feedback.

JS: In your experience, what is the common denominator shared by successful working authors?

CS: In terms of success in their work: heart. In terms of success in their promotion: gregariousness (whether strained or otherwise). Sharing beyond the medium within which an artist creates can be incredibly challenging, yet so often artists are expected to do just that incredibly well. It is counterintuitive for many, since the original expression occurs in the particular body of art for a reason. Book promotion is so often completely counter to the desires and disposition of writers, yet sharing work and being energetically assertive in the sharing is what often brings others toward it. Though, once the effort has been made to bring in an audience, the love affair can only be sustained if there’s substance. You can’t fake art. The writers I return to again and again are all writing from this wild place in the mind. Their voices sing and resonate with purpose.

On Friday night this week, in Jewish homes and synagogues in Israel and around the world, Jewish extended families will gather together on the first night of the holiday of Passover to recite a version of the history of our people, or at least the foundational narrative of our people. We can do so with any one of hundreds of haggadot (the Haggadah is the “telling of the story”) that have been printed over the centuries. And more are produced each year. There is one for almost every form of Jewish identity in the contemporary world, from secular to religious, from Zionist to non-Zionist, from kibbutzim and from cities, from women to gays, and more.

Passover is undoubtedly the most universally observed Jewish holiday, since it appeals to all Jews in one way or another. Why is this so?

It seems to me that the answer to this question is threefold.

First, the meal and discussions surrounding what we called “the Seder” (literally the order of the Passover ritual on the first night in Israel, and for two nights in the Diaspora) represent the quintessential family gathering. In my family, it has always been our favorite Jewish holiday. This year, as in previous years, everyone in the family who will attend the Seder will get a part to prepare. They can do it with words or with songs or with skits, or all of them.

Secondly, it is a child-centered educational event. The adults attempt to tell the basic outline of the founding of our people — from slavery in Egypt to receiving the Commandments at Sinai to arrival in the Promised Land of Israel — to the children in creative ways. The Traditional “Four Questions” are sung by the youngest children and they are a stimulus for others around the table to ask questions. By the end of the evening, we realize that as human beings we have more questions than answers!

Several years ago, b.g. (before grandchildren), one of the guests at our Seder was Msgr. Pietro Sambi, of blessed memory, the Vatican’s nuncio (ambassador) in Israel for eight years, with whom I developed a close professional working relationship and abiding friendship. He came three times to our Seder in our home in Jerusalem. One of the years, I assigned to him the task of creating four new questions for us to think about. He took the assignment very seriously, and pressed us for answers to his burning questions. At the same Seder, Msgr. Sambi told us that he had met the Pope at his summer residence during the previous summer at which time he told the Pope all about our Seder, especially about how we retell our history with our children in our homes and how, in doing so, we share our most precious values with our children, extended family, close friends and guests.

Thirdly, as Msgr. Sambi noted, the Seder ritual helps us remember who we are today, what our most important values are and who we would like to be as Jewish individuals and as a people. In my experience, the most important verse in the Haggadah is this one:

In every generation, each human being must see himself or herself as if he or she personally experienced the Exodus from Egypt

This verse — which we in my family all know by heart and which we sing to a contemporary Israeli melody — represents the central eternal and contemporary value of Judaism. For us, the Exodus was not only a historical event (even though historians in recent years are debating its historicity) but also a foundational idea. Just as we Jews moved from slavery to freedom, from darkness to joy, from depression and despair to exaltation and happiness, so should every human being — and every people — in every generation, be able to enjoy this process of liberation.

In addition, for us Mitzrayim (Hebrew for “Egypt”) can also be interpreted as “the narrow places”, the times in our lives when we suffered physical and emotional pain. Every human being seeks to escape from the difficulties of these “narrow places” and to enjoy a world of personal, communal and national fulfillment and self-actualization. We all want to move from the darkness of “Egypt” to the light of “the Promised Land”, both metaphorical and physical.

I would add that for myself and my family, celebrating Passover in the reborn state of Israel has special meaning. In a physical way, we have made the journey to Israel. We are here, when so many of our ancestors were not able to get here. But we must be careful. We must be mindful that being here physically is not enough.

A passage that I read every year at our Seder from a Haggadah of the Hashomer Hatzair kibbutz movement does a good job of reminding us of this:

This year, we (in Israel) are the redeemed of the people Israel; next year, it shall be all the people of Israel. This year, we are still slaves; next year we shall be free people.

We will not be completely free as long as we are enslaved to old habits of thinking and action, and as long as other peoples in our region and in our world are oppressed. Even though we are “here” in Israel, and other Jews are “there”, outside Israel, we do not have a monopoly on truth or on Jewish wisdom or on the only way of interpreting and explaining Jewish history to the younger generation.

It is because of these Jewish values that Passover has become the holiday that celebrates and venerates freedom not only for us, but for all human beings and all peoples. This is why this holiday has so much universal appeal for Jews, but for so many other people in our troubled world.

“Why do I have Aspergers in my brain?”

This question was asked by my son at age 4. It was asked just after we were served our drinks at a busy diner my sister and I had stopped at for lunch with the kids. My sister looked up at me with surprise and her eyes began to brim with tears. I was completely caught off-guard and lost for words. I stared at my son’s cherubic face and my heart ached over how I could possibly explain such a complex diagnosis in such a public place while honoring his curiosity and right to understand himself.

“Why is school so much easier for all the other kids? Why am I the only one having a hard time? What’s wrong with me?”

These questions were asked by my second son at age 8. For many years, he had an innocence and lack of awareness about his struggles. In third grade, that started to change. I knew it was time to tell him his diagnosis when he started to doubt himself as a person. It was time that he knew that he was not a “bad” kid who didn’t listen or couldn’t understand, but an amazing child who was able to do what he did each day despite the challenges autism created for him. It was time for him to understand the gifts that autism had given him, but also embrace and know why other things were a challenge.

“I feel like I don’t belong here.”

This was said by my third son at age 7 when I arrived at the nurse’s office at school after being called for a prolonged meltdown that could not be calmed. I knew then that it was time to talk about autism. He deserved to know that he was not alone. That he had a community. And I knew he no longer belonged in an integrated classroom. It wasn’t working. Later that year, he was moved to a sub separate language-based classroom and it brought him such peace. He later shared with me, “At my old school, I used to wonder what was wrong with me every day. Now I don’t even think about it. I just learn.”

I am the mother of four children, three of whom have autism spectrum disorders. I have had to look three little boys in the eye and share their diagnosis with them. It was always hard. It was always painful. It was always scary for both of us at first. But from my experiences, I have learned two things to be true.

The first is that there is no correct answer about when to tell your child about their diagnosis. This was true in my house alone. My boys have three very different levels of autism, and they were told at three different ages, and in three different ways. My oldest son had put things together at a very young age from all the doctor and therapist appointments and simply asked the question. For my other boys, I knew it was time to tell them when they began to be more aware of their differences and doubted themselves because of them. Every parent knows their own child best. You know when they might be ready to understand and handle the information. Be open to the suggestions and stories of others, pay close attention to your child’s feelings and maturation and then do what you feel is right for your child and family.

The second thing I know to be true is that sharing the diagnosis with your child allows them and your family to fully embrace all that autism means for them and the wealth of resources available. There is so much help available and a wonderfully supportive autism community that is hard to take advantage of if you haven’t shared the truth with your child. I believe strongly that the truth sets you free. It is hard for any person to make the most out of their situation in life if they are not able to embrace it or talk about it with others. I feel strongly that keeping anything hidden encourages the notion that there is something shameful about that which is not being discussed. Dr. Brené Brown states wisely that “shame needs three things to grow exponentially in our lives: secrecy, silence, and judgement.” Although I cannot control the judgement of others, I can empower my children by erasing secrecy and silence. It is not something to be ashamed of, and we will never positively change the public’s perception of autism if we as parents treat it as such.

Many parents feel paralyzed by figuring out how to approach the initial discussion. I kept the first conversation simple, creating space and encouragement for questions and whatever feelings came up. It differed slightly for each boy, but the overall conversation went like this: “Every person has things that are easy for them and things that they are working on. Your brain works in a very special way that is called autism. It means that some things that are hard for other people, like remembering numbers and all the states and capitols, are easy for you. But it also means that some things, like understanding conversations or what people are trying to say, can be hard for you. It is why sometimes noises, smells and the feeling of things bother you too. But it also means that you are amazing for how hard you work to get through it all! There are a lot of strategies we can use to help make the things that are tough a bit easier. There are lots of people in the world with autism and so many of them have done amazing things. Would you like to learn about some of them?”

They each responded differently. My oldest, who was the youngest at the time of the conversation, was very matter-of-fact about the whole thing. My youngest son said, “My friend Tommy has autism, I can’t wait to tell him I have it too!” With my second son, it was the most heartbreaking. His eyes immediately filled with tears. He cried and yelled, “Well, I don’t want it!” His older brother came in from the other room and hugged him and said, “It’s OK, Jack, I have autism too. It will be OK. We will be OK.” We all held each other tight for a long time. It was one of the saddest days I’ve had on this journey.

After the initial tough conversations, however, things only got better. We spend a lot of time talking about the gifts of autism. We read and watch programs about the many talents and successes of people who are on the spectrum. We attend the AANE art show and admire and support such talent in person. We have helped each of the boys to find what areas bring them joy and where their talents shine. My oldest son has won his middle schools trivia competition for two years in a row and belongs to the chess club. My second son sees art in everything and creates it everywhere. My youngest son loves to create games and has a heart so open and an enthusiasm for life so big that his love and spirit are contagious to all he meets.

We face the struggles that autism brings openly and involve each of the boys in working on their own strategies and solutions. We emphasize that the challenges of autism are not character defects but simply a difference in the way their brain is operating. When they have been able to view their troubles in this way, they have been able to work on their difficulties without feeling bad about who they are. Having autism, is like having anything else. A person who has diabetes has to adjust their diet and monitor their sugars, but it does not define them as a person. They are in fact to be admired for the extra effort that is required to keep their blood sugars healthy when everyone else around them has a body that does it with no effort at all. The same is true of people living with autism. Such bravery, such tenacity of spirit is required to walk in their shoes. I often take the time to gaze into each of my boys’ faces and tell them, “You, my friend, are my hero.”

My boys are now 14, 12, and 9. If you asked them about their experiences, I know that would be open and willing to share that they have autism. I am sure that they would tell you that they have many difficult days, but that there are also many special things about the way their brains work too. Most importantly, I am certain that they would tell you that they are proud of who they are, and that is all any mother can hope for.