As I write on Meridian I keep running into criticism that talks about Walker's attempt to heal the people through art/songs, and whether this is possible, overly romantic, disingenuous, self-serving, delusional, etc. And it brings up for me the fact that every single author I'm interested in has this position--as narcissistic as it is--of trying to Heal the People Through Art. And I think I will need to theorize this, and connect it to what it may/not be connected to, but I'm not always totally sure what that is.
The Artist as Healer. Makes me think of this, from Erykah Badu's new album:
The Healer: an artist who frees the slaves and the slave masters. In the album, it's actually the art form: the healer IS hip-hop, "this is called the healer, hip-hop". That's even more profound--not the artist herself, but the art that passes through her, the healing frees. The healing freeze?
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