fiction
oyster mother
[a nourishing picnic of warm, tangible bread;
a calm vacation.]
The presence of a childless mother hauntes the edge of the sea.
pale & halfless,
o)She
is all psycho-physical projection, and so free
among the knotted, ancient nets of relation that surround her-
her pain echoing from the depths,
and shimmering in the world of representation.
o)She
haunts,
in iridescent howls.
gaunt.
by the edge
of the sea where the milk-white foam
licks the pink rims of conches,
and the families travel to remember
the origin and the end of Everything.
o)She
watches everything pass,
and she holds her symbol, the indigo
shell, the fruitless
hull that sleeps
in empty halves.
o)She
howls forever in a soprano that paints
the world in iridescent pastels.
o)She
has a particular sadness that everyone knows,
and bloody knees because she kneels.
so much. no-one can touch
o)Her
because no-one is her
)Other half.
and no-one knows her
o)Her
companions are the constellations that mean so much.
They are given mythos to console them for their untouchability.
Where is her child?
A+HRRA award summer 2023
The Summer 2023 Arts + Human Rights Research Award will be open to submissions this summer (approx. 14:51 UTC June 21 2023 - 06:50 UTC September 23rd 2023). The topic of the Summer 2023 A+HRRA is AI, Computer Logic, and Human Rights.
th_Eroses, an arts publication www.theroses.xyz, is awarding $100 for a work of artistic / literary research that addresses or concerns human rights in conjunction with this season's topic, AI, Computer Logic, and Human Rights. The term 'research' here is intended to indicate the process of creation, exploration, and discovery, rather than the compiling of archival facts and/or materials, although the compiling of archival facts and/or materials may be a part of the process of exploration and discovery, or a part of the process of shaping the path or direction of discovery. This is intended to be an open-ended premise, to support the range of work that may occur in artists' and writers' unique processes.
From the UN:
"What Are Human Rights? Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination."
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/human-rights
Successful submissions may, but are not required to, focus on investigative, process-based exploration and material discovery. Successful submissions may couple rigorous (or subjective) analysis with documentation of investigative, process-based exploration and discovery. Submissions do not need to be factual; forms of literary fiction, subjective expression, abstraction, choreography, and/or non-narrative presentations will be considered as well. Submissions in all languages and media are welcomed.
The goal of this award is to amplify artistic voices that inquisitively and critically approach the pressing issues of our time, to create a habitat where a unique form of creative journalism can thrive, and to provide th_Eroses readers with artistic / literary insights into key issues.
Please note: If your work is submitted and selected for the award, you consent to the publication of your submitted work by th_Eroses now and in the future. Not all submissions will win the award; there may be one submission chosen, or multiple submissions, or none of the submissions. Selected submissions will receive an email of acceptance and next steps.
Please submit work to theroses.directors@gmail.com with "Entry: Arts + Human Rights Research Award" in the subject line.