Cityscapes - Aurelio Meza

8/22/2019 Cityscapes - Aurelio Meza

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40 contemporarywriters

compiledandedited byJacobSteinberg


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compiledandeditedbyJacobSteinberg


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cityscapes compiledandeditedbyJacobSteinbergNov.2012

This anthologyandalloftheindividualworksincludedherein,withtheexceptionofthoseotherwisenotedbelow, are licensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttributionNoncommercialNoDerivs3.0Unported

License.

ArqueologadelcalorbyAurelioMeza,andits respectivetranslationAnArchaeologyofHeat, arelicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttributionNoncommercialShareAlike 2.5MexicoLicense.

Thereproductionofanyofitscontentsispermissibleundertheconditionsthatthework notbealteredinanyform,noprofitbe

derivedfromits reproduction,andthatcreditbegiventotheappropriateauthor(andtranslator,intheeventofatranslatedtext).

Anyoftheserightsmaybewaivedwithexplicitpermissionfromthecreatorof thepiece(andtranslator,intheeventofatranslatedtext).

Cityscapeshttp://altlitcityscapes.tumblr.com


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compiledandeditedbyJacobSteinberg

altlitcityscapes.tumblr.com2012


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v

Prologue 1byJacobSteinberg

The Antipodeans

Iliveinamagicalkingdom(Wellington) 7JacksonNieuwland

Wellington 12AliceMayConnolly

thankyouBatman,Ifeelmagicalnow 17(Melbourne)SusieAnderson

Snail(Auckland) 21StaceyTeague

O Canada

WaitingForaFlood(Winnipeg) 25DaveShaw

HunterGather(Halifax) 36FrankHinton

Contents


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God Save the Queen

London 49

AlexanderJ.Allison

excerptfromnaturepoem(London) 51CrispinBest

FinddirectionsforShardeloesRoad,South 54EastLondon

ThomJames

Pada (Brighton) 60GilesRuffer

Best Coast

HighMaleVocals(SanDiego) 67AnaCarrete

PalmTreesAreNotNativeToLosAngeles 72MiraGonzalez

WelcometoLosAngeles 75MeganLent

fromoregon (Portland) 83ZekeHudson

SELFPORTRAITSTAKENONMYSHITTY 91WEBCAMINEVERYPLACEIVELIVED

SINCE MOVINGTOSANFRANCISCOALITTLEOVERAYEARAGO

MKitchell


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East Coast Swing

BodiesinDC 101

CarolynDeCarlo

JesusChristBoyDetective: 106ItsASmallWorldAfterAll (Orlando)

J. Bradley

#FILA:ForeverILoveAtlanta 115MichaelHesselMial

NewYork 121AlexDimitrov

MyDreamsAreShapedLikeYou(NewYork) 124MikeBushnell

innewyorkcity 128ReginaGreen

BreakupSex(NewYork) 130WillisPlummer

OdeToFlatbush (NewYork) 135JacobSteinberg

PleaseHaveNoInterestInProvokingGhosts: 140

PhiladelphiaCityofPoetsCAConrad

Middletown, USA

Chicago 149SamPink


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WhenAnyDecisionCanFeelLikeABetrayal 151(Chicago)CassandraTroyan

Memphis,Tennessee 156JaneySmith

OdetotheGulfWind(NewOrleans) 168RodNaquin

Uncharted Territory

sonilquioemsoPaulo 176AnaGuadalupe

sopaulosomniloquy 177EnglishVersionbyAnaGuadalupe

Ellesouriaitenpensantcetteexigence 180

quilavait (Paris)IrneGayraud

Shesmiledthinkingofthatdemandhe 181hadtranslatedbyCaitlinAdams

TrpticodelaRambladelRaval(Barcelona), 186

dondelamenteeselestmagodeungatocallejero:#cucharachas#gaviotas@elolordelaciudadmeinvadeLunaMiguel


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TriptychFromtheRambladelRaval 187(Barcelona),WheretheMindIsaStreetCatsStomach:#cockroaches#seagulls

@thesmellofthecityoverwhelmsmetranslatedbyJacobSteinberg

KoreaPoems(Seoul) 196NoahCicero

Seoul 199BrittanyWallace

Elreencuentroanunciado.(BuenosAires) 204MalnDenis

TheForecastReunion 205translatedbyJacobSteinberg

thinkingaboutusandremembering 210thesteelfactory(Taipei)BenTownsend

hello hyderabad(thesaddeststoryi 214everheard) (Dubai)

VivekNemana

(TelAviv) 224TahelFrosh

ASummerPoem 225translatedbyEranTzelgovandUriEran

Arqueologadelcalor (MexicoCity) 232

AurelioMeza


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AnArchaeologyofHeat 233translatedbyJacobSteinberg

MxicoMariachi(MexicoCity) 250ViktorIbarraCalavera

MexicoMariachi 251translatedbyJacobSteinberg

PortauPrince 268ArianaReines

Artwork 274


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Mexico City


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arqueologa del caloraurelio meza

Siempre he querido ser un arquelogo de las palabras,

excavar hondo en sus significados. ste es mi trabajo de

campo:

***

Los excavadores encontraron las vas de un medio de

transportedelaViejaCiudad.Alparecereraunaespeciede

vehculo masivo en ferrocarril. Al poco tiempo llegaron a

los escombros de lo que les pareca una estacin de ese

transporte. Alrededor slo haba tierra y ms tierra: se

sorprendieron al descubrir que los habitantes de la Vieja

Ciudad tenan rudimentarias construcciones areas.

Cuando se public el informe de los hallazgos, algunos

mencionaronenlosforosdeopininqueelNuevoCentro

deba ser demolido para redescubrir por completo al

Eslabn,aunquelamayoraselotomabroma.

***


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anarchaeologyofheattranslated by jacob steinbergIve always wanted to be an archaeologist of words, to

excavatedeepintotheirmeaning.Thisismyfieldwork:

***

ThediggersfoundthepathwaysfromoneoftheOldCitys

means of transport. It appeared to be a type of massive

vehicle on railway. In no time they reached the debris of

what seemed to be a station from that form of

transportation.Surroundingitwasjustdirtandmoredirt:

theyweresurprisedtodiscoverthattheinhabitantsofthe

OldCityhadrudimentaryaerialconstructions.Whenthe

findingswerepublishedinareport,somementionedinthe

opinion columns that the New Downtown ought to be

demolished in order to rediscover the Link completely,

althoughthemajoritytookitasajoke.

***


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Comodecauncientfico,elrecorridodeldesastresepoda

rastrear siguiendo el proceso de urbanizacin de la Gran

Ciudad, como entubar los ros y canales para construir

grandes avenidas, que luego seran el vertedero de las

desgraciasporvenir.

***

Jacintoencontrunoms.Losllambamosdepsitosdela

muerte: burbujas de concreto que no haban llegado a

derrumbarse.Lossobrevivientesserefugiabanahdelcalor

y los salteadores, pero eran muy inestables. En su

depsito, Jacinto supone que los accesos principales se

colapsaron, por lo que los sobrevivientes quedaron

completamenteaislados.Tambinleparecequehuboactos

decanibalismo:enloshuesosdeunniopequeoencontr

marcas de dientes. No parecan mordidas de rata u otro

animal.Lagentequemuriahadentrodebisufrirhoras

realmentedurasantesdepoderdescansar.

***

Alguien logr encender un generador de energa. De esa

casanosllegabannoticiasdelexterior.Asnosenteramos

queelGranTemblordejincomunicadosalSuryalNorte.

No puedeirnivenirayudaalguna.Hemosvueltoalapoca


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As onescientistnoted,thetrajectoryof thedisastercould

betracedfollowingtheprocessofurbanizationoftheGreat

City,forexamplechannelingtheriversandcanalstobuild

hugeavenues,whichwouldthenbecometheoutletforthe

misfortunestocome.

***

Jacinto found one more. We called them death

repositories:bubblesofconcretethathadntmanagedto

cave in. Survivors sought refuge there from the heat and

the highwaymen, but they werent very stable. In his

repository, Jacinto thinks the main entrances collapsed,

leading the survivors to be completely isolated. He also

suspectsthattherewereactsofcannibalism:inthebones

ofasmallchild,hefoundtoothmarks.Theydidntappear

tobebitemarksfromaratoranyotheranimal.Thosewho

had died there, inside, must have suffered through some

verydifficulthoursbeforefinallybeingabletorest.

***

Somebody managed to start up a generator. From that

house,wereceivednewsfromtheoutside.Thatishowwe

foundoutabouthowtheGreatTremorleftboththeSouth


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en que los Estados Unidos nos robaron territorio: las

regionesyanoformanunsolopas.

***

La vida de los pueblos del Desierto est muy relacionada

conlashierbasquelesayudaronasobrevivir:elzacateen

Zacatecas,lacachanillaenMexicali.Laplantadelvallede

Mxico, especficamente de Xochimilco, era el lirio

acutico.LuegodeldesbordamientodelosRosRenacidos,

eracomnqueelolorapodridodelos liriossemezclara

con el de los cadveres. Despus del Gran Temblor, la

hierbapredilectafuelamarihuana.Lagentepreferamorir

drogadayconlabocasecaantesquesimplementemorirse

decalor.Yanadatenasentidoparaeseentonces.

***

Venaal D.F.escapandodelcalordemitierra,enCuliacn,

cuandocomenzaronlastragedias.Elterremotofue loms

impactante de todo lo que sucedi. Lleg en el peormomento,justocuandoelcaloralcanzlosnivelesdelos

Desiertos del Norte. Los trabajos de rescate se

entorpecieron, gente mora mientras intentaban levantar

los escombros y rescatar cuerpos que rpidamente

entraban en descomposicin. Cuando los Ros Renacidos


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and the North cut off from communication. No help can

comenorgo.WehavereturnedtotheerawhentheUnited

Statesstoleourterritory:ourregionsnolongerformasole

country.

***

LifeintheDeserttownsiscloselyrelatedtotheplantsthat

helpedthemsurvive:thezacatelonggrassofZacatecas,or

Mexicalisarrowweed.ThatplantfortheValleyofMexico,

or more specifically, for Xochimilco, was the water

hyacinth. After the flooding of the Reborn Rivers, the

blended smell of rotting hyacinth and dead corpses was

quitecommon.AftertheGreatTremor,thefavoredplant

becamemarijuana.Peoplepreferredtodiedruggedupand

drymouthed over simply dying from the heat. Nothing

heldanymeaningatthatpoint.

***

IcametoMexicoCityfleeingtheheatofmyland,Culiacn,when the tragedies began. The earthquake was the most

stunning thing that happened. It came at the worst

moment, just when the heat had reached levels like the

Northern Deserts. The rescue missions hindered, people

weredyingastheymadeeffortstoliftthedebrisandrescue


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volvieronasecarse,sloquedunaesteladecadveres.

***

Yo slo habra vuelto a esa ciudad con ella, fue una

coincidenciaquesucedieratodoestomientrasyoestabade

paso. Era la ltima semana que el aeropuerto estara

abierto,losRosRenacidosdificultabanlaevacuacin pero

pese a todo, me enviaron en un vuelo de conexin. Ella

deca que la Ciudad de Mxico era como una de esas

morras que cogen con todos y no andan con nadie. Yo

pensabaenunaamantequeera asycomprendporquno

sepuedeatraparconpalabrasaunaciudadniaunamujer.

EntodocasofueunamalabromadeldestinoqueelGran

Temblor me agarrara justo aqu, donde jams me habra

gustadotenerquesobrevivir.Yaunascom,robymat

paranomorir.

***

Eldadehoyfuiporaguaalcentrodeacopio:alas10amestaba fresco, unos 35o C a la sombra. En el camino hay

algunas palapas pequeas para descansar del sol, pero la

mayora est hecha de aluminio y otros desechos, no de

palma.Yonuncamedetengo,sientoquenomsmegastoel

aguaquedebollevarymedamscaloras.Amediodala


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bodiesquicklybeginningdecomposition.WhentheReborn

Riversbegantodryupagain,allthatwasleftwasawakeof

corpses.

***

I only would have returned to this city with her, it wasa

coincidencethatallofthishappenedwhileIwaspassing

through. It was the last week the airport would be open,

theRebornRiversmadeevacuationdifficultbut,despiteall

else,theysentmeonaconnectingflight.ShesaidMexico

Citywaslikeoneofthosechicksthatfuckseveryonebut

datesnoone.Iwasthinkingaboutaloverwhowaslike

that,andIunderstoodwhyyoucannotcaptureacityora

woman with words. In any case it was a bad joke by fate

thattheGreatTremorwouldcatchmerighthere,whereI

neverwouldhavechosentohavetosurvive.Andevenso,I

ate,IstoleandIkilledtonotdie.

***

TodayIwenttogetwaterfromthestockcenter:at10amit

wascoolout,just95Fintheshade.Onthewaythereare

somesmallpalmshelterstorestfromthesun,butmostof

themarejustmadefromaluminumandotherscrap,not

palmleaves.Ineverstop,IfeellikeIjustwastethewaterI


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temperaturayapasdelos40o y eso no es nada, mi pap

nuncamedejairenverano,cuandollegaa60o, dice que

estoymuypequeaparasoportaresecalor.Lodicequien

haestadoensilladeruedasdesdequeuncaminloaplast

entrelosescombrosdeunRoRenacido,laPiedad,quepor

untiempofuerallamadoViaductoMiguelAlemn.Aveces

se le olvida que est vivo gracias a m. En la noche, el

sonidoalolejosdeunosventiladoresdestartaladosnonos

dejadormir.

***

Sabescuandomedicuentaqueestecalornoeranormal?

Cuando por primera vez sent la piel de mis prpados.

Despus comenc a sentir mis ojos calientes, a esa

temperaturalosencendedoresexplotabanenlosbolsillosy

en la sala de urgencias era comn ver a personas con el

muslooelpechodestrozado.

***

Nadie estaba preparado en esta ciudad para lo que vena.

En Hermosillo o Monterrey llevaban muchos aos de

prctica,porasdecirlo.PeroenelD.F.casinadietena

aireacondicionado en loshogares,asquecuandollegla

primeraoladecalorlagentenosabadonderesguardarse.


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needtobringandendupfeelinghotterthatway.Atnoon

thetemperaturewasalreadyover104Fandthatsnothing,

myfatherneverletsmegooutinthesummer,whenithits

140F,hesaysdaddyslittlegirlistoosmalltohandlethat

type of heat. He says it, the one who has been in a

wheelchairsinceatruckcrushedhimamongthedebrisof

oneoftheRebornRivers,Piety,whichforsometimewas

called the Miguel Alemn Viaduct. Sometimes he forgets

thatheisalivethankstome.Atnight,thedistantsoundof

beatupceilingfanswontletussleep.

***

YouknowwhenIrealizedthisheatwasntnormal?WhenI

felttheskinofmyeyelidsforthefirsttime.ThenIbeganto

feel my hot eyes, at that temperature lighters burst in

pocketsanditwasnormaltoseepeoplewithbrokenthighs

orchestsintheemergencyroom.

***

Nobodyinthiscitywaspreparedforwhatwascoming.In

Hermosillo or Monterrey, they had been practicing for

years, so to speak. But in MexicoCityalmost nobodyhad

airconditioningintheirhomes,sowhenthefirstheatwave

camepeopledidntknowwheretotakecover.Thescarcity


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Laescasezdeluzelctricanopudollegarunmomentoms

inoportuno.Luegodelasinundacionesalcanzamoslos55o

Calasombraynohabaaireacondicionado!

***

Todosestabanaferradosalacomodidad.Sehicieronala

idea de que era un derecho suyo, un deber de las

autoridades.Cuandolosgeneradoreselctricosporttilesy

elaireacondicionadoempiecenaserunacosamscomn,

el efecto invernadero se agudizar en el valle. Cualquier

temperaturaarribade26o Cserpretextoparaencenderlo,

inclusoeninvierno.Conrazntodosucedeprimeroenla

ciudaddeMxico:quierenllegarprimeroalinfiernopara

apartarleunlugarasusfamiliaresdelinteriordelpas.

***

Yopudehabermedadocuenta:enMontrealelveranolleg

acasi30o Cporalgunosdas,enMadisonmedijeronqueel

invierno no haba sido tan crudo, las ciudades de BajaCaliforniaregistraronrcordsdetemperatura,lalluviano

parabaenlaciudaddeMxico.Yopudeadvertirles,mivida

estaba diseccionada entre la Hora del centro y la del

Pacfico, saba malabarear entre el vaco de dos husos

horarios.Ynohicenada.


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of electricity couldnt have come at a least opportune

moment. After the floods we got as high as 131 F in the

shadeandtherewasntanyairconditioning!

***

Everybodyclungtocomfort.Theygotusedtotheideathat

it was their right, a duty of the authorities. When the

portable electric generators and air conditioning begin to

be a more common item, the greenhouse effect in the

valleywillgetworse.Anytemperatureover79Fwillbea

pretext for turning them on, including in the winter. For

goodreasoneverythinghappensinMexicoCityfirst:they

want to reach hell first so they save a spot for all their

relativesfromtherestofthecountry.

***

I could have realized: in Montreal the summer reached

almost 86 F some days; in Madison they told me that

winter hadnt been so harsh; cities in Baja Californiarecorded record temperatures; the rain wouldnt cease in

MexicoCity.Icouldhavewarnedthem,mylifewasdivided

between Central Time Zone and Pacific, I knew how to

juggle between the void of two time zones. And I did

nothing.


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***

Tanta muerte me hizo pensar que estbamos tan

acostumbradosalafelicidad.Nosolvidamosdeellahasta

quelaperdimos.Porlomenoslosquepodamospagarla.

Lospobressiemprehansufrido,estnmsadaptadosalas

condiciones extremas, fueron los primeros en comerse

cadveres frescos. Cadveres por lo general de gente rica.

Los canbales arrancaban a pedazos sus alhajas y ropas

finas,lastirabanalsuelollenasdepolvoysangre.

***

LoscadveresquearrastraronlosRosRenacidosquedaron

expuestosalsol.Alospocosdastodalaciudadolaacarne

podrida.Lashoguerasenlasfosascomunesempeorabanel

calorydisminuanlavisibilidad.Lospocosdueosdeautos

queantenangasolinacorranelriesgodechocarsiibana

alta velocidad, pero tambin de ser emboscados por los

salteadoressimanejabanmuydespacio.

***


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Primero hubo una enorme inundacin, o ms bien una

seriedeellas.Elprimerro quesedesborddelsistemade

***

So much death made me think that we were used to

happiness.Weforgotaboutituntilwelostit.Atleastthose

ofuswhocouldpayforit.Thepoorhavealwayssuffered,

theyremoreadaptedtoextremeconditions,theywerethe

firsttoeatfreshcorpses.Corpsesthatwereusuallytherich

people.Thecannibalsrippedtheirjewelryandfineclothes

topieces,threwthemtothefloorfullofdustandblood.

***

The corpses that the Reborn Rivers dragged along were

exposedtothesun.Afterafewdaysthewholecitysmelled

of rotten meat.Thebonfires in themass graves made the

heat worse and diminished visibility. The few carowners

thatstillhadgasolinerantheriskofcrashingiftheywent

at high speed, but likewise being ambushed by thehighwaymeniftheywenttooslow.

***


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Firsttherewasahugeflood,orbetterput,aseriesofthem.

The first river to flow over from the drainage system was

theNationalCanal,inthestretchknowaslaViga,oneof

drenajefueelCanalNacional,eneltramoquesellamade

la Viga, uno de los primeros que entubaron en la Gran

Planificacin Hidrogrfica, a mediadosdel s. XX. Fue una

gran irona para los ms viejos. Al Canal de la Viga le

siguieronotrosros:elHondo,elChurubusco,elMixcoac,

elMagdalena.LaredacuticadeXochimilco, queantesse

extendahastaelCentroHistricomismo,reviviporunos

cuantos meses. Se cumpli otra prediccin, la de los Ros

Renacidos,msporplaneacindeficientequeporelclima

o por acto de Dios, como decan los abogados en sus

contratos.

***

Yonosoyhumano,yosoyelsolmismo.Nacdelyhacia

lmedirigemimuerte.Unhilodeluzseescurrepormi

boca y mis lgrimas son cristales de azufre. Huelo apodredumbre ypolvo. Ayudo a los zopilotes y la valenta

me da risa: todosmorirnbajo lamarcadel cncer en la

piel.


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the first ones they channeled in the Great Hydrographic

Planning, in the mid1900s. It was quite ironic for the

elderly.AfterthelaVigaCanalcameotherrivers:elHondo,

elChurubusco,elMixcoac,elMagdalena.Thewaterwaysof

Xochimilco,which used to extend all theway toHistoric

Downtown, came to life again for somemonths.Another

prediction came true, that of theReborn Rivers,more so

because of deficient planning than the environment or

ActsofGod,aslawyersputintheircontracts.

***

Iamnothuman,Iamthesunitself.Iwasbornofitand

towardsitIdirectmydeath.Astringoflightslipsfrommy

mouthandmy tearsaresulfur crystals. I smellof rotand

dust. I help the buzzards and courage makes me laugh:

everyonewilldiebeneaththecancermarkontheirskin.


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____________________

Aurelio Meza was born in Mexico City in 1985. Poetry: Sakura

(2008), La droga (2010) and Sombra (Unpublished). Essay:

Shuffle. poesa sonora(2011).

Jacob Steinberg was born in Stony Brook, New York, in 1989.

He did his undergraduate work at NYU and currently lives in

Buenos Aires while working on his Masters in Spanish and Latin

American Literature. He works as a translator and edits Chronos(loves) Kairos.

____________________


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It is well known that people ascribe to different cities their

ownidentities.Oururbanlandscapesmostcertainlyhavetheir

ownuniquewayinwhichtheyarerepresentedinculture,film,and writing. But the focus of this project was the ways in

which those identities are so often transplanted onto their

inhabitants. While dispute continues over terminology to

definecontemporaryliterature,thereisanundeniable, shared

qualityinhowwewrite,publish,andconsume literatureinthe

internetera.

The cityscapes in this project are reflections on the urban

environmentsthatweallknowandhowthecurrentgenera

tionofwritersrelatestothem.

The city exists as a fruitful, generative space, a locus ofculture, and Cityscapes explores this space, probing the

intersectionsbetweenartand life.Thesepiecestakethereader

aroundaspinoftheglobe,inhabitingandevokingspacesinall

theirsplendorand squalor.-Rachel Hyman, Co-founder of Banango Lit

OneofTHEMOSTambitiousandamazingcityprojectsthatIveeverseen!!-CAConrad, Contributor, 2013 BANFF Fellow, and author of ABeautiful Marsupial Afternoon

Documents

Cityscapes - Aurelio Meza