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Electric
Voice Coming of Age
We
think of electricity as a utility, the power that allows us to turn
on the light or to make machines work. We recognize its undeniable
might in storms. It is often forgotten, however, that
inside each of us electric current is constantly moving, that the
body itself is invisibly charged.
When
Walt Whitman wrote, "I sing the body electric," I believe
he was testifying to this and to the truth that the human voice
and the syllables that make its meanings are sweet embodiments
of the current that sustain our humanity.
Whenever
a nation gives in to fear and forces the yearning voices to be
silent, that place goes dark. To keep the light, to clarify
the heart, there are those who spend their lives finding the words
that conduct this quiet lightning, that turn the voice electric.
Tim
Seibles
Literary
Festival Director
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