Richard Selesnick and Nicholas Kahn Liftoff, from the Apollo Prophecies series, 2002–06
THE ART OF SCIENCE The Pasadena Arts Council’s AxS Festival explores the intriguing nexus where the arts and sciences intersect.
IMAGE: Courtesy of artists
BY NOELA HUESO
CRAIG ARNOLD WASN’T A VOLCANO EXPERT YET, DESPITE THE IMPRESSION GIVEN BY HIS BLOG, “VOLCANO PILGRIM: FIVE MONTHS IN JAPAN AS A WANDERING POET” (VOLCANOPILGRIM.WORDPRESS.COM). THE AWARDWINNING POETRY PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN HAD CHRONICLED HIS EXPERIENCES IN 2009 AS HE FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF 17TH-CENTURY HAIKU POET BOSHO WHILE RESEARCHING A BOOK ABOUT ACTIVE VOLCANOES AROUND THE WORLD. BUT ARNOLD WASN’T A RISK-TAKER, EITHER, SO WHEN HE WENT MISSING IN APRIL OF THAT YEAR WHILE HIKING THE RIM OF KUCHINOERABU-JIMA, A 2,129-FOOT VOLCANO ON ONE OF JAPAN’S RYKUKYU ISLANDS, PEOPLE BECAME ALARMED. NEWS OF HIS DISAPPEARANCE AND RESCUE EFFORTS WENT VIRAL ON THE INTERNET AS FAMILY, FRIENDS AND THE LITERARY COMMUNITY POSTED ON FACEBOOK AND THE POETRY FOUNDATION WEBSITES, AMONG OTHERS. MEDIA OUTLETS SUCH AS THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER AND ABC NEWS PICKED UP THE STORY. –continued on page 32
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