The US Represented Weekly Update

Hi USR members and guests,

We hope all is going well for you, and thanks for spending time enjoying our site’s weekly offerings. We posted an eclectic mix of interesting works over the past week. “Siduri’s Advice to Gilgamesh,” taken from The Epic of Gilgamesh, the first known piece of extended literature, recounts a Sumerian tavern keeper’s suggestion to King Gilgamesh that he spend more time living in the present and enjoying the simple pleasures of life because it is short and precious. Talon Carver’s “The Manitou Springs Homeless: A Lifestyle Preference” describes a subculture that defies stereotypes while functioning more efficiently than many might expect. This article has performed well, going viral for a little over 24 hours, perhaps demonstrating that a broader audience finds Manitou Springs culture and poverty issues interesting and significant. In Mark Eberhardt’s “The Raising of Lazarus, Again,” a Rembrandt masterpiece helps an educator focus on what matters most in his profession. William Butler Yeats’s “Sailing to Byzantium“ advocates for living in a world of beautiful, eternal artifice. DeLyn Martineau’s “Patience Is a Virtue . . . Or Is It?” points out that patience is becoming obsolete given society’s accelerating velocity. DeLyn effectively counterpoints this baleful phenomenon through a brief description of her friend with Cerebral Palsy who operates at “Dale speed.” *Layers,* by Cheri Arfsten, is a haunting photograph of a Savannah, Georgia stairwell. Dana Zimbleman’s “Antelope Grazing in My Front Yard” makes clear that although the poet is at peace with her local wildlife, Epicurean indulgence and survival needs also play a role in her culinary decisions.

Finally, we’re still working on the Visual Arts upgrade. Although this has been taking some time, we want to make sure we do it right, so we’re not going to rush things. We’re getting there and appreciate your patience and understanding in this regard. Please keep being who you are, and we’ll talk to you soon.

Best!
The USR Staff