Alfred North Whitehead spoke of art and was a lover of poetry himself and is rumored to keep a volume of the poetry of Wordsworth on his nightstand.
Poetry and music are like sisters in that poems can have a musicality to them, and songs can be set to poems. Poetry and music have been intertwined for thousands of years. In antiquity, poems were often sung. The Welsh word “cerdd” can be translated as either “verse” or “music”. This is because poetry was often sung by the Bards.
Both music and poetry use rhythm to create emotion. The rhythm of music is created by the combination of different instruments or notes, while poetry has its own patterns to define the way words sound when assembled in beats or rhyme and recited out loud. Both music and poetry convey more than mere notes or words. They carry potential for feelings as we interact with them. Poetry and music are relational.
The arts are an integral part of the Cobb Institute; therefore, it makes sense to name Cobb Institute Artist Laureates.
Poet Laureate
Christina Hutchins
Christina is a poet and scholar of process philosophy and theology whose poems appear widely, including in The Antioch Review, The New Republic, Prairie Schooner, Salmagundi, The Southern Review, and Women’s Review of Books.
Musician Laureate
Hope Montgomery
Hope is a musician whose songs combine rich lyrics with rhythmic melodies to explores faith, doubt, self, and love entangled with an illustrative backdrop of landscape and nature. She is hoping to release her third album in 2023.
Visual Arts Laureate
Andre van Zijl
Andre is an award-winning artist of international merit. His work offers an artistic commentary on socio-political and global culture from a holistic spiritual standpoint.