ArtLog: "Nine Things About Oracles"

[elisem]

OK, so how many are there, now? I'll add them here as you tell me where to find them... and we have made nine nines, the last of which is a poem from papersky, who wrote the first of the oracle poems.

This doesn't mean we're done, though! Yes, you can still write one. Or two. I'll add all the lagniappe ones as they come in.

And thank you all!



The First Nine:

One, the pendant "Nine Things About Oracles"
Two, "Nine Things About Oracles?" from papersky
Three, "Nine Things About Oracles" from dhole
Four, "Nine Things About Oracles" from noveldevice
Five, "The Sea Bride" and "Delphi" from melopoeia
Six, "Nine Things About Oracles" from shweta_narayan
Seven, "Nine Things About Oracles" from dorfird
Eight, "Nine Things About Oracles" from kaolinfire
Nine, "Another Thing About Oracles" from yunitsa

The Second Nine:

En, "One Question About Oracles" from aryllian
To, "Nine Things About Oracles" from snowy_owlet
Tre, "Another Nine Things About Oracles" from cucumberseed
Fire, "Nine Things About Oracles" from rachelmanija
Fem, "TMI" from pgdudda
Seks, "Nine things about Oracle" from cattitude
Syv, "Nine Things About Oracles (The Northern Exposure Overdub)" from seajules
Otte, a song from danceswithwaves
Ni, "Nine Things About Oracles", from kallistei

The Third Nine:

Wanji, "yet another thing about oracles" from aliseadae
Núnpa, "Nine Lines About Oracles" from dichroic
Yámni, "Nine Things About Oracles" from saoba
Tópa, "Nine Things About Oracles" from bohemiancoast
Záptan, "Things About Nine Oracles" from ladyqkat
Sákpe, "The Old Lady and the Oracle" from cakmpls
Sakowin, untitled from dichroic, in these very comments
Saglogan, untitled from pgdudda, in these very comments
Napciyunka, a thread-full of reworkings and playing-with-a-poem starting here, from shweta_narayan

The Fourth Nine:

Kow, "MY Nine Things About Oracles" from inspirethoughts
Labba, "What Price For Balance?" from mechaieh
Saddex, "the sign on the apartment door" from bridgetj2
Afar, "Not Isaac Newton's Oracle" from aamcnamara
Shan, "Knitting About Oracles" from mechaieh
Lix, "Nine Things About Oracles from azurelunatic
Toddoba, "On the Way to Delphi You Will" from writeonq
Siddeed, "Nine Things Oracles Do" from ajodasso
Sagaal,"What I know of Oracles" from marydell

The Fifth Nine

Uno, "Nine Things About Oracles" from truepenny
Dos, "Nine Secrets" from sistercoyote
Tres, "The Oracle's First Year" from jenett
Cuatro, "Nine Things About Oracles" from panjianlien
Cinco, "Nine Things About Oracles" from starlady38
Seis, "Nine Things About Oracles" from briebribeez
Siete, "Nine Things About Oracles" from sysrae
Ocho, "What Mick Knows About Oracles" from dichroic
Nueve, "Nine Things About the Oracle" from estaratshirai

The Sixth Nine:

Ib, "Nine Things About Oracles" from melusinehr
Ob, untitled with bonus fractal from kuangning
Peb, "9 Things About Me: A Meme" from shellefly
Plaub, "Nine Things About Oracles" from shadesong
Tsib, "One big thing the Oracle knows" from oursin
Lee, an oracle haiku from selkie_b
Ab, "9 Things About Oracles" from perigee
Bay, "the modern oracle" from cliosfolly
Blao, "Nine things about Oracles" from bearsir

The Seventh Nine:

okati, "Yeah, I remember Delphi" from davebooth
rendu, "Neuf choses sur les Oracles" from tournevis
muudu, "Nine Notes on Desert Oracles" from spartezda
naalgu, "Pieces of Nine Oracles, Scattered (and Silent Ten)" from seeksadventure
aiDu, "Nine other things" from txanne
aaru, "nines and oracles" from gryphynshadow
Edu, "Requiem for a Street Oracle" from saoba
enimiDi, "Nine things about Oracles from jcalanthe
TommiDi, "Nine Things About Oracles" from matociquala

The Eighth Nine:

Un, "Nine Tings" from magentamn
Deux, "Nine things about auricles" from reveritas
Trois (and I must for a moment say, "Bonjour hi!" because she will know what I mean and it will make her smile), a word-picture of the pendant itself, which delights me, from papersky
Quatre, "9 Things About Oracles" from sizztheseed
Cinq, "Nine Precious Oracle Moments!" from inspirethoughts
Six, "The Sibyl's Nine" from truepenny
Sept, "if your true love will die by your own right hand" from ceitie
Huit, "Nine Times 'Round" from finnyb
Neuf, "The intern and the Oracles' handler" from weds

The Ninth Nine

Root energy, "Nine lines about four and a half oracles" from fmi_agent
Choices, "Counting On Crows" from heavenscalyx
Something produced, "Nine Things About Oracles" from jonquil
Structure, "The priestess speaks" from athenais
Difficulties, a slideshow from kightp
Communication, "Things about oracles" from liadan_m
Power, "IX" from zapkilikan
Movement, "Three and three and three" from mamagotcha
Fulfillment, "Eighty-One Things About Oracles" from papersky, who wrote the first oracle poem in this series.


That's nine nines! And here's lagniappe:

"Ninth oracular opinion (because they got tired of asking women)" from pgdudda
"Postcards from a Traveling Oracle: To Nine Sisters, from Kyoto" -- an absolutely stunning slideshow from fireriven
three lines from arielstarshadow
nine lines from aliseadae
"The Ninth Oracle" from liadan_m
Nine panels about Oracles from pitselly
something from mari_who
"Nine Things About Oracles" from wordweaverlynn
"The Oracle of Barnacles" from seajules
"farewell, cassandra" from phinnia
"Nine Things About Oracles" from endlessland
"Nine Have I Known" from bearfairie
"Nine Things About Oracles" from vom_marlowe
"Twins" from zapkilikan
"Nine Haiku About Oracles" from yendi
"Nine Things the Oracles Told Our Interviewers" from gtrout
"Nine Things About Oracles" from feste_sylvain
"Nine Things About Oracles" from samadi
"Nine Things observed by Guests, or, the Difficulties of Growing up an Oracle" from owlfish
"last night" from sysrae
"Nine Things About Oracles" from menoreiel
"Questions Not to Ask the Oracle" from firecat
"Nine Things About Oracles" from micheinnz
a reworked poem, "Oracle Bones", from kathryn_ironic
"A Truth You Can't Unhear" from ivory_and_horn
"The Tenth Thing" from noveldevice
a story series called "Nine Lives" from inspirethoughts
and ...?


P.S. A word from the Sphinx, from oursin



(And speaking of Oracles, I can testify to this one. Nine bows to haikujaguar! And I love love love the card you painted for me.)

Notes about the number-words: They are all connected to me and my neighborhood. The first nine are from the language I speak; the second nine are from the language my mother's people spoke in the old country; the third nine are from the language of my neighbor's people; the fourth nine are from the language of a bunch of people who live a ways up the street from me; the fifth nine are from the language of many of my neighbors, including one who is gone now, Artemio Trinidad-Mena, who was a really nice guy, always smiling, and who lost his life in the I-35W bridge collapse; the sixth nine are from the language of the folks who had a community services center a block from here when I moved in; the seventh nine are from one of the languages of an old beloved of mine, and also one of the languages of a new commenter on my LJ (hi!), and I am not capitalizing this set of number-words because it would play hob with the Rice Transliteration Scheme, in case you were wondering; the eighth nine are for Grégoire, to whom my father once said, "French major, huh? I don't even think French kids should learn French," but who loved me in spite of the idiocies of my family and who is a re-found friend now; finally, the ninth nine are for Rachel, with love.


[Edited on September 2, 2018 to add: If anyone has a good link to replace any of the broken links above, please leave it in the comments here and I will take care of it. Thank you -- and thanks for reading these again. That was an amazing upwelling of creative work in community.]

Comments

[reveritas.livejournal.com]

Aaah! I want to write one!

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Well then, your task is clear. ;-)

[redbird]

Since he didn't point you here himself:

http://cattitude.livejournal.com/48046.html

[pgdudda.livejournal.com]

Just as a clarification, the title of my piece is actually "TMI", or alternatively "TMI (or, four unnamed senses)" The text of your link is just the title of my journal entry, to place it in context.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Fixed. Thanks!

[seajules]

asakiyume collected the ones she found here: http://asakiyume.livejournal.com/263577.html

And here: http://asakiyume.livejournal.com/263967.html

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Did I get them all up there? I tried to, but if somebody double-checks my work I will be very grateful.

[aliseadae]

seven: http://aliseadae.livejournal.com/139477.html#cutid1

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[shweta-narayan.livejournal.com]

This is more than I've tracked down, so I shall just say *squeee*

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you!

Also, I have a question for you -- will email you, OK?

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Nine Lines About Oracles, here (http://dichroic.livejournal.com/169638.html).

[shweta-narayan.livejournal.com]

Ilike! And I misread that as "nine lies"

Which would also be interesting.

Also, and at random, I did an oracle poem already. But now my brain says:

Everything the oracle says has nine meanings
and every meaning branches
into nine

when the twigs from those branches
and their half-imagined leaf-kennings
cover the world

you will see
that they are, always, one --
and everything you say will have nine meanings.

*waves shyly*

[saoba.livejournal.com]

http://saoba.livejournal.com/217101.html

Re: *waves shyly*

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Thank you, dearie!

[dsmoen.livejournal.com]

I only have the following photo to offer (which I took myself at Delphi):

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/muhe-e/520678603/)

[elisem.livejournal.com]

*snrch*

Love that.

[ladyqkat.livejournal.com]

Hi, I kind of followed saoba here and, well, this (http://ladyqkat.livejournal.com/385828.html) is what I came up with.

I must be mad.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

http://bohemiancoast.livejournal.com/140668.html

Re: I must be mad.

[pgdudda.livejournal.com]

Yours made me think that oracles sometimes have to decide how to interpret their own insights:

She once saw
With two eyes
Three dancers

Four drumbeats
Five muses
Six futures

Seven lies
With weight of
Nine answers

She sees all
Which story
Does she choose?


(Edit because the fortune-telling cliché is 'sees all' not 'tells all', and ties in better with the first line.)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

This is so inspiring to see. Reminds me of this line from "The Man Who Planted Trees" (http://www.perso.ch/arboretum/man_tree.htm):

When I considered that this had all sprung from the hands and from the soul of this one man ... it struck me that men could be as effective as God in domains other than destruction.

In this case, not all from your hands, but your hands provided the spark of initial inspiration, and how the fire spread!

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

Speaking of our lovely Jaguar, did you ever finish the piece of jewelry you teased us about, the one you wanted to show her? Did I miss the unveiling of that?

(Which card did she paint for you? My card was The Path)

[elisem.livejournal.com]

If I recall correctly, it was this one I wanted to show her. There were tektite pieces also, which are up in New Shinies (http://elisem.livejournal.com/1436482.html) now, and there are more things in the works.

One of the things I make is going to come live with her, one day, when she tells me she recognizes it. This is a happy thing for both of us, I do believe.

[inspirethoughts.livejournal.com]

I am writing one and will send you a link to mine once completed. :) Thanks for grouping all of them together.

[inspirethoughts.livejournal.com]

here is my Nine things about oracles:

http://inspirethoughts.livejournal.com/116964.html

[shadesong.livejournal.com]

Oh, now I'm going to have to do one...

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Yes, do!

[pgdudda.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to note that cakmpls has a fine addition: http://cakmpls.livejournal.com/594727.html

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

You started something amazing! Thank you.

(You inspired me to write only the second poem I've done in umpty-ump years/)

[finnyb.livejournal.com]

Not sure what this is, where it came from, or what it's called. But it's for you, and in addition to being inspired by all the Oracles, it's the second of my writings to involve "Shadow Cat knows your name", though it's the first to be completed.

Tomorrow never comes,
tripping on the heels of today,
and yesterday doesn't die...
just withers off, forgotten,
melting with a past
never known.

The Shadow Cat knows your name,
though,
even when you don't.
And mine.
And that of the stranger
across the street,
sitting in shadows and
sipping the sands of time.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[mechaieh.livejournal.com]

Couldn't resist...

"What Price for Balance?"
http://www.journalscape.com/mechaieh/2009-03-26-21:19/

Thank you, and to the others, for inspiration and intricacy.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

You are very welcome, and thank you for what you bring to it.

[bridgetj2.livejournal.com]

It seems I couldn't help myself:

The sign on the apartment door (http://barelyathread.blogspot.com/2009/03/sign-on-apartment-door-nine-things.html)

A lovely writing diversion in a day when I should be writing something else. OK, back to that, then.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Got it.

[aamcnamara.livejournal.com]

"Not Isaac Newton's Oracle"
http://aamcnamara.livejournal.com/10956.html

[aliseadae]

oh, I just had a thought. All of these interpretations are like musical variations on a theme.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Poetry jazz, in a lot of cases.

Like a moth unto...

[mechaieh.livejournal.com]

"Knitting About Oracles"
http://www.journalscape.com/mechaieh/2009-03-28-22:40/

Again with my thanks.

Re: Like a moth unto...

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Most welcome, and thanks given!

[azurelunatic]

Mine.

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Got it - thank you very much!

[writeonq.livejournal.com]

And here's another (http://writeonq.livejournal.com/81373.html?mode=reply).

[elisem.livejournal.com]

Gratz!