SERI(a) 2: Silk is a Noun

In Silk, the Universe, Language, the Heart Inger Christensen presents her Ars Poetica, referring in particular to a text by the Chinese poet, military leader and politician Lu Ji (261–303), which is an important inspiration not only for her, but also for numerous other poets of the 20th century. In the book Wen Fu, Lu Ji presents his reflections on poetry in the form of a lyrical text, demonstrating that poetry is first and foremost a medium of “coming to be” (Stephen Olson) rather than a representation of the existing world. In this sense, Christensen’s text negotiates the meaning of silk and its production by silkworms for language beyond the metaphorical. The publication of both works, together with laboratory photographs documenting the life cycle of a silk worm contextualises this in a special way, making a statement for the open and experimental character of the new publication series SERI(a).