Our artist in dialogue, playwright Pearl Cleage, was recently asked to write a poem in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Orly Flight Tragedy. On June 3, 1962, a chartered flight from Paris to Atlanta crashed during take off, killing 122 of Atlanta’s arts and cultural leaders. The city sought to memorialize the victims in a way that honored their passion and dedication to build Atlanta into a cultural city. This led to the creation of the Woodruff Arts Center, which today includes the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences.
On June 3, 2012, the Woodruff hosted a Community Day, where Pearl read her poem on the Alliance Stage. You can download Pearl’s poem, Wish You Were Here, here or you can read it below.
Wish You Were Here
(In memorium)
A Poem by Pearl Cleage
One:
There are moments that the brain cannot fathom.
That the mind cannot hold fast.
That the heart cannot let go.
There are moments when everything shifts and shudders
And changes so completely that in years to come,
We will mark time in before and after that moment.
Continue reading
Alliance Theatre Blog 