Photo: Tiffany Bessire

This incredible performance encompassed some really interesting elements, static and water, and the juxtaposition of them was really generative for me. The inspiration of water based movements that we learned in the dance masterclass and the static of a news channel felt organically combined in discussing water rights, ruminating on what might be and what is in relation to them.

Water

Inspired by Assimilating

by Elizabeth Upshur 

Inspired by Assimilating


Be like water, my friend.

But if you, Karolina, keep asking ChatGPT for instructions and journal prompts, what water will there be left to mimic?

At the turn of the decade, water isn't rolling off me like a duck's back.

A drop on the tongue stitches me to childhood memory— today's headlines about microplastics in the water, and therefore, in the cells of my own little body (in the grand scheme of things) I put it with the rest of the fire: microplastics in chewing gum, which is why I switched to mints (even though my friend’s bf says sugar is poison); microplastics in the workout clothes, especially the cute ones my sister gets microplastics in the pineapple green juice I just fell in love with, which seems particularly egregious.

The clouds. How could you take God's green earth and sieve it into a little poison every day? What's the hair of the dog that remedies these past few centuries? Give me a shot, I want to sober up for Monday.


About 
Elizabeth Upshur
Elizabeth Upshur is an actress and storyteller raised in Tennessee. She is a contributing editor at The Seventh Wave and local Black owned company Blazon Publishing. She is a Fulbright alumna, Rock’n’Roll marathoner, forever Miss Tennessee Earth 2018, and bachatera. She is the founder of The Matinee Club, a virtual workshop for film buffs, screenwriters, and film writers. In her free time, she sketches and volunteers at the Nashville based food pantry The Store.
Art Wire is an ongoing creative writing fellowship from OZ Arts and The Porch. Each performance season, a cohort of writers is selected via application to attend a variety of OZ Arts presentations and respond to each work through original writing that is personal, playful, and deeply engaged.

Throughout the season, original Art Wire writings will be added to this website, showcasing the inspiration and interpretations captured by this year's cohort.

Explore The Work

hello world!