Joy & Sorrow
Joy and Sorrow were always present at the festival: the pleasure of recognizing yourself in a story, the unexpected joy that an encounter with an unknown kindred spirit can give you, and of course the celebration of life on the dance floor or around a campfire.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.” But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
– Khalil Gibran
We saw the sorrow in moving performances by authors where the tone was sometimes as droopy as it was activating. Stories were shared about the loss of a loved one, the loss of hope in a revolution, the loss of a neighborhood, a house. Major themes were discussed, but always reduced to human proportions in a language that everyone speaks, namely the language of the imagination.