Kathryn Darnell makes film animations from calligraphy of poetry. In this piece, Winter Solitude, the lines are from a poem by Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694), a major progenitor of what came to be known as haiku.

winter solitude—
in a world without color
the sound of the wind

Dave: Not sure who translated this. The original reads 冬枯れや 世は一色に 風の音 which is better captured by Robert Hass’ translation, rendering the second line “in a world of one color” (yo wa isshoku ni). Fuyugare (冬枯れ) means winter bleakness; kare/gare means dry, withered, dead, etc. But I guess loneliness is also implied.

Marie: Darnell made this film for the 2022 northern hemisphere winter solstice just passed. Even from here in the midsummer of Australia I appreciate the light touch of snow in this film, and the simple beauty of the words.

As adjudicator of the Atticus Review Poetry Film Competition in 2018, I awarded first prize to an earlier film by Kathryn Darnell, Things I Found in the Hedge. This was a collaboration with UK poet Lucy English, who commissioned the piece for her larger poetry film project, The Book of Hours. This film was also part of the Poetry & Video international touring program I curated the following year. Another of Darnell’s films I have shared here at Moving Poems is Write Out: A Scribe’s Haiku #3.

From the ‘about’ page of her website:

Less important than what I do… but here it is in a nutshell. I also answer to Kate, Kath or K.L.Darnell. A native of Michigan and a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Art, I maintained a freelance studio art practice in East Lansing, Michigan for 40 years. I spent most of those years also teaching art; both independently, facilitating workshops, and as an adjunct professor in the art program at Lansing Community College.

Happy New Year to all reading!