Flights and Perchings

Two quotes from William James’s “The Principles of Psychology” (1890) opened Streams 7 (1993):

“Consciousness...does not not appear to itself chopped up in bits . . . A ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it here after, let us call it the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life.”

And,

“As we take, in fact, a general view of the wonderful stream of our consciousness, what strikes us first is the different pace of its parts. Like a bird’s life, it seems to be made of an alternation of flights and perchings.”

For Ten Penny Players, the streams metaphor applied to the many different schools in NYC from which contributions to the anthology “streamed” in; particularly those schools serving students outside “the mainstream.” Over 60,000 students were attending New York City’s Alternative High Schools and Programs in 1993. The anthology contributors’ streams of thought were channeled together as a strong current.

The Streams anthologies were particularly useful for discussions during “Family Group,” a period each alternative school set aside to help students articulate and evaluate their emotions while getting support and guidance from peers and professionals. Family Group was put in place by Stephen Phillips, the superintendent of New York City’s Alternative High Schools and Programs.

Damon wrote, “Streams”

All of our emotions
go into streams.
All of it’s told.
All of it’s seen.

The stream of life,
the stream of thought,
the stream of poetry
can’t be bought
in a store
or on the shelf.
Reach for it deeply
and you will find
it in yourself.

The harmony of it
and the power it holds.
Don’t fight the power.
Be bold.
Just grasp the light,
so pretty and green.
Open your hand and see,
you’ve reached the stream.
(page 67)

Streams 7