I write in English out of habit, and I’m thinking that the festival was wonderfully flexible linguistically, and I think this speaks of its character in other ways as well. It was impossible to agree with all of the things discussed, or the angles with which everything was put, but differences came up alluringly, and in kindness. The perspectives and the voices presented were broad, and in a sobering way removed from the arts. I’m sure the next one will be even more diverse, and impactful — Syspirosi atakton’s programming and moderation were wonderfully humane/grounded/awake/free) — and as a very low budget experiment by and in non-corporate collectivities, I think it is already given the academy a run for its money as far as meaningfully communicative conferences go.
Re Aphrodite will have a Sunday morning (Dec 11th) meet at the municipal park 11am, thinking about this among other things. We’ll bring lemonade despite the cold, as well as our own mix of herbal tea, which we will offer to spike.