Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Steven Heighton (1961-2022)


"A grave/ a stringless guitar/ a lost song"

I'm not sure what "Grave Song" looks like on the page. I only just heard it, read by its author, Steven Heighton, from a November 25, 2020 recording featuring Rodney Sothmann on bowed bass. The line quoted is the last line (or lines) of Steven's poem.

Last night, while poking around on my laptop, I saw a condolence for Steven's family, then an announcement that he died that morning. After an "aggressive" illness. He was sixty.  

After watching/listening to Steven's reading I took off the strings of the guitar I keep by my desk, laid it on the floor and walked around it, knelt down beside it. No longer a guitar but a grave, I said to myself, just loud enough to hear its echo in the sound hole.

Steven was a talented and devoted writer, editor and mentor. I have a hard time believing he's gone.

Time to cue this up, go for a walk, get lost in its song. 

No comments:

Post a Comment