Caught me. Fresh out of the water and unknowingly thirsty for something different. Something with a purpose more grand than reality TV and airbrushed magazine images at check-out. The Somalian famine feature vs the Cereal aisle at my latest superstore. That’s where I was when
Ireceived this add to another facebook group. Added. One more project. One more sweet human I may never meet face to face or have the blessing of saying grace with in a list that is growing every longer. But this one, Wang Ping’s mind melody of people sharing thoughts and words like currents, snapshots and creativity that connects us through that power that runs through all of us. One river in China, one river in America and here across the many miles of water a way to meet.
Wang Ping’s vision is grand and glorious that entails a five-year plan of measurable goals. Oh, capture me indeed. A star-flung vision that has foundation, true meaning, long range plans and results. This is no burning man art project baby but something meant to create a body of work that someone’s grandchildren could point to and say — look, this photo, this journal, this time – they were here and did this – together.
Add to this sudden surge of mine to say Yep, count me in is that I’m a water girl. Raised on a creek that eventually made it’s way through the southern trees to find it’s way to the motherlode resting place of the Mississippi, that great Gulf of Mexico. The same river that gave birth to the man we needed in Mark Twain. He gave us the all clear and safe passage we needed in the literary dust of rolling river boats, stories, and people making their way south to New Orleans.
Should you have an interest in a project that celebrates the way that the story of rivers, primarily The Mississippi of America and the Yangtze of China shape our lives with their currents, please visit and join in the celebration of the story that is after all, a part of all of us.
“As you know, our mission is to create a sense of kinship among the people who live along the Mississippi and Yangtze rivers through exchanging gifts of art, poetry, stories, music, dance, and food. Our website http://www.kinshipofrivers.org and Kinship of Rivers Facebook Group which now has over 700 members from all over the world and is still growing daily, reflect the projects growth, as we continue to gather and post poems, stories, images, news and projects about the rivers.” Wang Ping
I encourage you to drop by the site or facebook site and share something amazing taking place. A group of people dedicated to learning and discovering, celebrating and sharing our common humanity. The Kinship of River’s Project is also tagged with the Clearstory Radio site of the week and will be featured on the upcoming show on Wednesday, August 17 at high Noon.
Yes, Wang Ping and friends. Count me in, indeed. Hope to see you on the Mississippi in 2012!
This weeks show highlights upcoming guests, Eric Wilson and his unusual new book on what happens when a family suddenly is ‘blessed’ with a
six million dollar windfall. We’ll talk writing and the road to riches, how authors learn the ropes, and what Eric has learned in his wildly successful road to becoming a NY Times bestselling author.
Then we take a peek reading at Signe Pike’s new work Faery Tale, One Woman’s Search for Enchantment in a Modern World.
Because we are all about projects that celebrate our shared humanity and creative and how the river runs through the story of us all!
