What is the best thing that I love about my work? That no matter where i am in the world, language is a landscape to live in.
What is my idea of perfect happiness? On the page or on the stage when i am at one with the words
What is my greatest fear? Immobility
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? Impulsivity. Hedony. Obsessiveness
Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? All my language-focused colleagues, mentors, teachers, heroes, friends, warriors, who are challenging borders, power structures in the face of enormous cultural political and aesthetic adversity, controversy, outrage; and with commitment to transgression and at times anarchic intervention, continue to fight through their language.
What is my greatest extravagance? Taking great risks with the work
On what occasion would I lie? When sitting is not an option
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? When (because of lecturing, touring, performing) there is not enough time to create
When and where was I the happiest, in my work? When I am at one with the text. And when it inspires a reader / listener to luxuriate in the physical, materiality of language, soar through its sonic exuberance, aural possibilities; reminding them of the very real connection between language, eros, meaning, being.
If I could, what would I change about myself? To be more patient. To listen better. And to remember to revel in the beauty and the awesomeness of every moment, breath, letter.
What is my greatest achievement in work? To have the work translated into many languages and have the opportunity to set it as an opera with multiple voices, dancers, musicians and screen projections.
Where would I most like to live? Exactly where I do, in alphabet city, amid all the artists, musicians, magicians, renegades, poets pushing aesthetic boundaries wherever and however possible in order to challenge colonial, patriarchal, aesthetic, academic and politically oppressive thinking
What is my most treasured possession? pen and paper
What is my most marked characteristic? Effusiveness
What is my most inspirational location, in my city? Along the East River
What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city? Top of the Standard for midday martinis in the fake grass
What books influenced my life and how? The 2nd Century Kabbalistic text, Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) outlining how the world was created through letters
Who are my favorite writers? Too many to name, but a list would include Abraham Abulafia, Bruce Andrews, Walter Benjamin, Jorge Luis Borges, bill bissett, bp Nichol, Charles Bernstein, Hélène Cixous, Jacques Derrida, Edmond Jabès, Emmanuel Levinas, Gertrude Stein, Michael Wex, Elliot Wolfson, Slavov Zizek, Louis Zukofsky
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? Gianni by Frank London, composed for our Salomé show; an achingly soaring fusion of bhangra klezmer and jazz
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai of the Zohar Also Elsa von-Freytag Loringhoven
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? All those out there rising up and inscribing a sense of unrest. Speaking the unspoken, saying the unsayable, with passion and playfulness, urgency and jouissance; the fearless champions who recognize that language is powerful tool for transformation and change —
Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? Pillow Book
What role plays art in my life and work? For me there is no separation. Art is life is work is play. All that is visible and invisible, spectral and enigmatic is infinitely re-mixed, palimpsested, fragmented and re-mirrored back on to itself, forever-defining its own parameters.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? Frank London, my co-creator of Salomé: Woman of Valor
Whom would I like to work with in 2017? Sergei Polunin and Natalia Osipova
Which people in my profession would i love to meet in 2017? everyone. all at once.
What project, in 2017, am I looking forward to work on? The world premiere of my opera, Salomé: Woman of Valor and my new book, Alephville, forthcoming from Talonbooks, 2018.
Where can you see me or my work in 2017? Check listings here adeenakarasick.com
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? That all of life is dripping with jouissance (play, pleasure); and one should harness it, and live and love and create every day with an infinite explosive intensity of TEXTATIC desire
Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story? Elena Lamberti, Serena Piccoli, Pina Piccolo, Nicole Peryrafitte, Tracey Erin Smith, Maria Damon
How can you contact me? http://www.adeenakarasick.com
adeenakarasick@cs.com
Compilation Videopoems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWid5HMhd9E
Lingual Ladies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hTmDu9J3Ng
Checking In (Vispo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJjAs4u9m48&feature=youtu.be
Salome stir Fry: http://vispo.com/StirFryTexts/adeena/
My books
* Mêmewars
