Audio Feature: Art as Resistance: Insights from Duriel E. Harris

Produced by Zoe Brigley

Please note: Audio feature will go live on January 1st 2025.

We are honoured to present in conjunction with issue 5 of MODRON, an interview with Duriel E. Harris, the American author of three critically acclaimed poetry volumes including No Dictionary of a Living Tongue. Current projects include “Concept | Blood Labyrinth,” and multigenre works Code and Thingification—a one-woman show. A performer, sound artist, and scholar, Harris is Editor of the award-winning publishing platform Obsidian.

Amid global upheaval, MODRON continues to protest genocidal violence in Palestine, and we stress that any environmental stance must recognize how the ecological crisis fuels global conflict. In this video, Duriel E. Harris, editor at Obsidian Publishing, reflects on the complex nature of joy, highlighting the movie It’s Bisan From Gaza and I Am Still Alive by Palestinian film-maker, Bisan Owda. Could joy be about resilience and the will to persist as well as the refusal to allow one’s spirit to be diminished?

Duriel’s poem ‘Enduring Freedom’ – read powerfully for this recording – was written after the 9/11 attacks in New York of 2001. Duriel reflects on the shock and disbelief at the news, as well as the hatred and violence that erupted, particularly toward people perceived as Arab. In a series of moving observations, Duriel calls on writers to harness potential for rupture and change. There are still opportunities to use art and personal agency to resist . We can recognize the privilege of being away from direct danger, but also understand that our writing and art can add to voices speaking up.