The Hearth of the Matter
Poiesis Podcast
I recently met Miranda Aisling Hynes at a event called Makers Monday at the Artist's Asylum in Somerville, MA. The event itself is sponsored by Miranda's Hearth, an Organization founded by Miranda with the mission of bringing people together around doing creative work and building relationships. Maker's Monday is one of a number of recurring, monthly event's run by Miranda's Hearth members (aka. Embers). Other monthly events include a potluck dinner, a waltz night (often with live music), book club gatherings, a creative writing night, and...
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CATCHING UP WITH ACTOR, NEWS ANCHOR, STORYTELLER - JOSH BROGADIR
Poiesis Podcast
Josh Brogadir is a man on the go. When he's not anchoring the early morning news, or filling in on the sports desk at WCVB Channel 5 in Boston, he is likely acting in a locally shot movie or commercial. He also co-hosts the Framingham Access tv show, Novel Ideas, reviewing books and interviewing authors. In addition to reviewing books, he has done voice-over work on numerous books and video games. Josh thrives on being involved in a variety of different projects. In this interview we explore the ins and outs of what goes into making...
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Skipping the Small Talk with Ashley Kirsner
Poiesis Podcast
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On Being Sex Positive - Interview with Nicole Mazzeo
Poiesis Podcast
The first incarnation of this blog and podcast, Poiesis Studio, was actually a practice group for actors and filmmakers. We used to meet at the Democracy Center in Harvard Square, Cambridge. It was there that I first met, Nicole Mazzeo. Her educational organization Pleasure Pie was sponsoring an ongoing discussion group called Sex Positive Boston. Curious to see what they were about, I eventually ventured into one of the meetings. A bit nervous, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself welcomed into a meeting space of very diverse folks talking with one another...
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Susan Campbell
Poiesis Podcast
Susan Campbell's writing on communication and personal coaching consultations have helped me greatly. She is a psychologist, a prolific writer, and a life coach in Sebastopol, California. Her latest book is 5 Minute Relationship Repair. I also highly recommend her other books Getting Real, and Truth in Dating. She has a passion for inspiring and fostering progressive change in the world, and channels this through her writing, work with clients, and training of other coaches in her Getting Real approach. I’m excited that she is...
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Menon Sudheep
Poiesis Podcast
I had a chance meeting with Menon Sudheep about a year ago, and quickly found myself in a conversation about trance music, Brian Eno, and Indian micro-tonal composition. I had a feeling I would be talking with him again. I recently caught up with Menon via Skype in Bangalore India. He was kind enough to take some time and share of his thoughts on music composition for film. In the conversation we touch on among other things: Menon’s current film project in India How to approach scoring an Indian Film. Contrasting song structures between western pop...
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Stephen K. Levine
Poiesis Podcast
I first encountered Stephen Levine through his writing. In particular his book, Poiesis: The Language of Psychology and The Speech of the Soul, which I began reading in the summer of 2004, before I started the Expressive Therapies graduate program at Lesley University. If you have noticed the name of my blog and my podcast, you can see that this book, along with Steve's chapters in the book Principles and Practices of Expressive Therapies, made just a wee bit of an impression on me. While I was at Lesley, Steve was not faculty there, and I only encountered him once in a...
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JOANNE Q., OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST EXTRAORDINAIRE
Poiesis Podcast
Links from the show: Jenga People mentioned: Joanne's Mom Show notes: Joanne’s super cliche answer to Rob's super cliche question. [3:31] Joanne’s various friend crushes. [5;50] Why Joanne chose occupational therapy over clinical psych. [7:20 ] Full-on sensory integration. [10:29] The magic of weighted blankets. [13:34] Back to the friend crushes. [16:42] This is My Brave. [20:07] Suicide Prevention. [22:28] Joanne and I attempt to explain axis 2 disorders. [24:49] Defining Depression. [27:19] Occupational therapy applications for treating depression. [28:27] Getting...
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FROM MIT PHD TO AWARD WINNING ACTOR, FILMMAKER: EPISODE 2 WITH ALBERT M. CHAN.
Poiesis Podcast
In this episode, Canadian born filmmaker, Albert M. Chan, known for his films, The Commitment, and, Ancestors of the Future, Descendants of the Past, talks about success, and how he balances his various careers as an actor, a filmmaker and an electrical engineer who holds a Ph.D. from MIT…not to mention being a Dad, and a husband. Also in this episode Albert talks about: - how he was able to cast Golden Globe, Emmy, and Drama Desk nominated actress, Tina Chen for one of his films. - How he got his first breaks as an actor in Boston. - His...
info_outlineI first encountered Stephen Levine through his writing. In particular his book, Poiesis: The Language of Psychology and The Speech of the Soul, which I began reading in the summer of 2004, before I started the Expressive Therapies graduate program at Lesley University. If you have noticed the name of my blog and my podcast, you can see that this book, along with Steve's chapters in the book Principles and Practices of Expressive Therapies, made just a wee bit of an impression on me. While I was at Lesley, Steve was not faculty there, and I only encountered him once in a brief workshop on creative process. I remember thinking that the way he talked reminded me of Christopher Walken. I now know Steve is a Brooklyn boy. Maybe there’s a connection? A quick google search reveals that Christopher Walken grew up worlds apart, in Queens.
In any case, Steve’s accomplishments are too numerous to cover here. Briefly though, he is the Paul Celan Chair of Philosopy and Poetics in the Arts, Health, and Society Division at The European Graduate School in Switzerland. He is also the Dean of the Doctoral Program in Expressive Arts there. He along with his wife, Ellen Levine, founded THE CREATE INSTITUTE in Toronto, in 1994. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, and another in anthropology. He is a trained psychotherapist and Expressive Arts Therapist. He has authored numerous books, and is a passionate social/political activist. I was both thrilled and terrified when he agreed to be on my podcast. I felt as though I had wandered into a dragon’s den. As it turned out, the dragon was exceptionally kind hearted and down to earth.
In this episode, we cover a lot. Steve shares some of the stories and numerous pearls of wisdom from his poietic life journey. I can't help but feel we only scratched the surface. There are a couple of glitches with the sound, but over all it does not interfere, or matter so much, as we settle into our conversation. There is one point around the 20 minute mark where my audio freaks out and goes into skip mode. You might notice a quality change in the microphones I'm using after that. I didn't edit this out because I feel like the discussion around this part is an important part of the conversation. So listen in as Steve shares stories on everything from:
- his involvement with Students for a Democratic Society
- his thoughts on social political critique
- the meaning and practice of poiesis
- therapeutic presence
- approaching art-making
- the history of philosophy and Heidegger
and more...
Links:
The European Graduate School
CAET Creative Arts in Education Therapy: Eastern and Western Perspectives
THE CREATE INSTITUTE
The Living Theater
Poiesis: The Language of the Psychology, and the Speech of the Soul
SDS
Lesley University
Principles and Practices of Expressive Therapy: Toward a Therapeutic Aesthetics
The Imperative of Responsibility
Being and Time
The Denial of Death
I am Love
The Golden Notebook
Giovanni’s Room
Rashomon
Butoh
People mentioned:
Martin Luther King Jr.Paul Celan
Denise Fujiwara
Heidegger
Ellen G. Levine
Judith Malina
Julian Beck
Hans Jonas
Aron Gurwitsch
Husserl
Ernest Becker
Paolo Knill
Shaun McNiff
Elizabeth Gordon McKim
Hegel
Marx
Jacob Moreno
Donald Trump
Bernie Sanders
Doris Lessing
James Baldwin
Roy Hart