language place #11: Streets, Signs, Directions

One year ago, the first edition of the language/place carnival went live:
"> Language > Place: a joined blog cyber journey featuring international perspectives on language and place."

Since then, almost monthly, a new edition followed - each a journey in itself, hosted by different bloggers in places that reach from Hong Kong to Slovenia and New Zealand to the States.

Now, for the anniversary edition, the blog carnival returns to its place of origin in Germany - the "life as a journey" blog. The theme of this edition is: "Streets, Signs, Direction" - and following its own theme, this edition offers 3 ways to explore and visit the contributions:

> a found poem, based on single lines from each contribution
>> an itinerary: all contributions with notes and links
>>> a geographic map which also includes the former editions

enjoy the journey!
Dorothee




> Streets, Signs, Directions - a found poem

a sign of the times. a time of signs.
I am hunting the wild poetic in all its true, I walk
in a circle of simultaneous past and present,
here, there

and then on to Berlin for half a day,
too tired and in a hurry to bother stating that it felt weird to be back
wandering the vibrant neighborhoods
pulsing in different directions at the same time

fearful of being stuck there,
I close my eyes, hear the miles below the tyres
corrugated iron canopy steps telegraph wires
dog rebar water tank satellite dish

even time slows (like in a dream)
the world as I know it will end,
the day after tomorrow, and then it will restart

but not now and not here
old breath vision time and sensation
that is the only way I know where to go:
the necessary

not so long ago I was awestruck by the automation, the orderliness,
and the speed I saw all around:
there was always something happening

I focused on taking a lot of pictures
these photos served as a reference point
I am still processing

here we are standing, appropriately:
innuendos bubble champagne lipsticked rims,
sighs hopes promises unfurled
talk about crossing boundaries and borders

I hadn't expected to be so impressed by
the promise of what lays ahead -
this departure

we have a map drawn by the friend of a friend.
it evokes so many feelings
we thunder down the street
and the sensation is like flying

as we drive higher, deeper into the rolls of mountains
we have only the clouds for company.
who am I, I wonder, in this landscape?


>> Streets, Signs, Directions - an itinerary

A sign of the times. A time of signs.
For Swati Nair from India, a large part of her cherished memories lie in streets, signs and roads. "It brings this big swell of joy in my heart just thinking of the various places I have seen, the people I have met and the things I have experienced." - Signs from London

i am hunting the wild poetic in all its true, i walk
Inspired by the topic, Penn Kemp picked two poems from "Dream Sequins", a manuscript in process. Two other poems came from her travels, the first from Morocco, the second from a collection of artificial butterflies. Follow her Walking / Paraclete / From Dream / Travelling

in a circle of simultaneous past and present 
here, there
On the third day of her trip to Paris, Dorothee Lang arrived at a reflection pond in the middle of the city: "I walked through the glass lobby of the museum named by it's former use: l'Orangerie, then stopped in front of a sign with a suggested mode for visiting" - Paris dans le Calme



And then on to Berlin for half a day
Nine from Northern Ireland is skilled in the art of finding cheap ways to get from A to B via C, D and E. In March she arrived in Sweden, coming from Kurdistan, and heading to Berlin. Meet her Everywhere and all over

wandering the vibrant neighborhoods
A stroll through the memories of a journey to Portugal inspired Steve Wing to create a collage of sideway mosaics: Streets, Signs, Directions

pulsing in different directions at the same time
Siddartha Beth Pierce is a Mother, Poet, Artist, Educator and Art Historian from Washington, DC. Her contribution reaches out to Africa, Petersburg and to Ireland in artwork and poetry, online at buddhetat's Space



fearful of being stuck there
"With hindsight we certainly would have done," Sandra Davies explains and recollects a trip that was planned as a summer stay, yet demanded some pioneering spirit: Road to Spurn

i close my eyes, hear the miles below the tyres
Sheree Mack recently was at a workshop. "We just played with words, but other poets words and then made then our own. This is a mash up I’ve made which I think fits the theme this month ’street, signs and directions. The quote used here is something my mum once told me regarding childbirth" - The Sinking Road Remix

corrugated iron canopy steps telegraph wires
dog rebar water tank satellite dish
While in the Mexican town of Tecpán, Rose Hunter sat and wrote the first draft of this poem and took this picture at the same time, from a balcony At the Hotel Virrey, Tecpán




Even time slows (like in a dream)
Sometimes direction can be found in unusual things in our environment, notes Brigita Orel. "When I get lost and the road signs are too far away to read them properly, I strive to reconnect through words" - My road signs.

the world as i know it will end,
the day after tomorrow, and then it will restart
For Julia Davies, signs are reminders of the rules of how to live, tried and tested methods for avoiding accidents, mishaps, in getting things right. "But there are so many of them, it seems like every one of them, every combination of them tells a different story, sends you in a different direction." - the highway code




but not now and not here and not present
old breath vision time and sensation
Far away in a haze of mental distraction, local signage brings Karyn Eisler back home, and reminds her that elsewhere doesn't mean better: home sense memory.

that is the only way I know where to go:
"I am very bad at directions but use other senses in good measure to find my way to places and back," says Abha Iyengar. "Though this can be embarrassing , it has never stood in the way of my adventurous streak."  - With Due Respect to Those Who Eventually Find Their Way

the necessary
Peg Duthie appreciated a stranger's wordless annotation in Jerusalem: The Necessary. For more abroad signs, visit the next blog entry, too: Roaming Near the Read Sea.




Not so long ago
It rained the whole week Jean Morris spent Up North in August, "rather undermining my cherished personal ideal of rural Yorkshire, so the signs felt particularly poignant on that damp afternoon. In retrospect and in the photo, it looks a lot more Arcadian that it felt at the time" - Not so long ago

I was awestruck by the automation, the orderliness,
and the speed I saw all around:
Forced to commute to work for a few days by bus, Parmanu finds that a regular bus ride in small-town Germany can lead to surprising encounters and discoveries: The bus ride to work

there was always something happening
Wetteravia. Known to few. Rarely mentioned on the new, slick maps of the 21st century. Pockets of memory exist in the northern valleys of Wetteravia. There is a Hof there still - Let Roucheswalwe tell you of a time it was run by Hennis Lina: Gewürzkuchen und Schattenmorellen



I focused on taking a lot of pictures
Nine is currently staying in Barcelona, and sends a photo essay from sunday protests in Barcelona: taking to the streets! Somos los de abajo

These photos served as a reference point
"Signs, signs, every where a sign..." When Linda Hofke recently went through her summer vacation photos, this sign song kept running through her head, and she realized how many pictures of signs she had taken: The Value of Signs

I am still processing
Daniela Elza purposefully stumbled onto the Occupy Vancouver rally at the Vancouver Art gallery. "There were places one could make a sign if they did not have one" - pre.occupied: intersection, street, direction



Here we are standing, appropriately
Donigan Merritt lived in many countries - currently he resides in Argentina, and walks the streets of Buenos Aires almost everyday -  Another day in Buenos-Aires

innuendos bubble champagne, lipsticked rims,
sighs, hopes promises unfurled
Linda Wastila may live in Baltimore, but her soul lives in Boston: "There's an energy on the street, an excited chitter-chatter, it enervates and leaves me feeling oddly alone." - The City Street

Talk about crossing boundaries and borders
Michelle Elvy was out sailing last week, and following the nautic theme, together with her partner Bernard Heise contributed an adventure of the Bay of Islands: The (Road)way of the Orca



i hadn't expected to be so impressed by
Dave Bonta looked for a video poem: "I think this poem by Pablo Neruda, "Fable of the Siren and the Drunks," might fit your theme ("how to navigate in a foreign place and surrounding - what to do when we don't understand / or aren't understood..."): Lorelei

the promise of what lays ahead
Michael Solender reflects on the directions and streets of life in a flash story: Life is in the Right Always

this departure
Nicolette Wong sends a photo from her 100-day project; Le Bleu du Ciel blog: "...because all departures are forced.": Departure



We have a map drawn by the friend of a friend.
"One of the things i like so much about living where i do is that directions are vague and at once specific," notes Sherry O'Keefe from Montana. "We were given directions on how to get to a place to catch catfish. the place is called gritty stone, but instead of saying "drive out to gritty stone", a map of sorts was offered" - the not-a-problem hand wave

It evokes so many feelings
"I'm a sign enthusiast. Is there a word for this type of person? Here are 10 signs (from dozens) I've photographed this year. Signs are like a higher being talking to us, directing us, entertaining us. No one should ever overlook them," states Christopher Allen, and sends a Year in Signs

We thunder down the street and the sensation is like flying
Jonas Knutsson is preparing for the cold winter and long nights in Iceland, and sends a couple of connected/disjointed riffs from Rejkjavik - Street Scenes



As we drove higher, deeper into the rolls of mountains
we had only the clouds for company.
Uma Gowrishankar is a writer and artist from Chennai, India. In her blog, she recently explored how a place and the story attached to it rests on a terrain where history merges into myth and legend. - There was once this man called Parashara

Who am I, I wondered, in this landscape?
Not the same person, surely
Signage tells us a lot about culture, especially when we're being warned about what not to do. "I thought we were pretty laissez-faire here in Quebec, but a recent trip to Iceland revealed a new level of 'proceed-at-your-own risk," Beth Adams notes in Fire and Brimstone


>>> Language > Place - a world map
This map leads to the locations of the language/place carnival #11, marked with blue pins. Also included: the previous carnival homes, marked with yellow houses. Click the places on the map to enter. There also is a larger popup version of the map. (and if you are interested in creating an own map, there now is a quick guide on how to create a map)


Streets, Signs, Directions - larger version / größere Karte


The blog carnival and Edition #12: Food!

You can read more about this blog carnival on the >Language >Place info page, which includes guidelines, a note about the carnival, the list of previous editions and related links.

Previous host Parmanu added a reflection on the carnvial as it developed in his blog: "With age, the carnival begins to show its value as a concept. So much of individual writing on the Internet is buried under a tangled web that search engines can barely reach; a carnival like “Language-Place” offers a theme-based portal to navigate such writing." - the whole entry is online at: Parmanu/Language-Place blog carnival.

Some notes on how the three-pronged presentation appraoch are online in Karyn Eisler's blog Living ?s, starting with General Thoughts, and moving to The Map, The Poem, The Itinerary...: here's the link: Living ?s / Language/Place

Edition #12 will be hosted by poet & writer Linda Hofke. Though a Pennsylvania native, Linda has lived in Germany for over a decade. She blogs at Lind-guistics and Linda's Life on the Other Side. The feature theme for this edition is “Food" - but as always, a wide range of contributions is welcome. The edition is planned for late November 2011. Submissions are open November 1-20, more details in the guidelines, and a personal invite here: Food for Thought.

Thank you for visiting!