As from the power of sacred lays
The spheres began to move,
And sung the great Creator's praise
To all the Blest above;
So when the last and dreadful hour
This crumbling pageant shall devour,
The trumpet shall be heard on high,
The dead shall live, the living die,
And Music shall untune the sky.
-- excerpted from John Dryden's "A Song for St. Cecilia's Day" 1687
The Untuning of the Sky is a series of outdoor events throughout the summer that brings together music, poetry, and film inspired by the mystery and wonder of the sky at night. Held at venues across Seattle, the series links such divergent cultural traditions as the Music of the Spheres and afrofuturism with contemporary astronomical theory. The series takes its name from John Hollander’s 1961 book by the same name that examines the influence of music on poetry.
In this first event, Jim Demetre hosts an evening of poetry at The Center for Wooden Boats. Joined by Natasha Marin and Chelsea Werner-Jatzke, the three will read a selection of poems on the stars and darkened evening skies from the sixteenth century to the present. Composer Nat Evans will debut a new atmospheric work using music from the English Baroque and a field recording made under the summer stars.
Jim Demetre is a writer and critic who has written about visual art, dance, performance, film, and Northwest history since 1995. His writing has appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, and City Arts.
Natasha Marin is a poet and interdisciplinary artist. Her written work has been translated into several languages and shown internationally in exhibitions and performances. She is a Cave Canem fellow and a Hedgebrook alumna who has been published in periodicals such as the Feminist Studies Journal, African American Review, and the Caribbean Writer.
Chelsea Werner-Jatzke the author of the chapbooks Thunder Lizard (H_NGM_N Books, 2016) and Adventures in Property Management (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2017). She is managing fiction editor at Pacifica Literary Review, editorial director at Conium and co-founder of Till, an annual writing retreat.
Nat Evans is a Seattle-based composer and artist. His interdisciplinary works are regularly presented across the United States as well as internationally.
