About this series:
Beauty in a Broken World is a collection of essays, poems, music, photography and spoken word generously contributed by a Harvard Divinity School student cohort led by author and Utah native Terry Tempest Williams, to bring solace and solidarity during the coronovirus pandemic.
We are wired for music
Rhythm quite literally speaks to our minds and connects our hearts. Studies have shown that choral groups who sing in time synchronize their heartbeats while rowers and dancers who move in unison share the benefits of social bonding.
Crisis, too, connects us. As we explore new ways of connecting while remaining distant, Lindsay reminds us that music—the rhythm and release it brings—is powerful medicine.
Kim Mahoney—founder and community director, Accelerate Learning Community, University of Utah Health
Ant Ballad
"Ant Ballad" is an original song that was written, performed, recorded, and produced over a couple of days in quarantine by Lindsay Sanwald (aka the multi-instrumentalist musician called Idgy Dean). The song was composed specifically for the U of U Coyote Chaplaincy "Renew" endeavor, led by Terry Tempest Williams together with her class, Finding Beauty in a Broken World.
Lindsay/Idgy also cut together the music video below for the song, using only the footage on her phone of her friends and community back home in New York City. The video is not only a love letter to NYC and its local artists, but also a testament to the creative spirit and energy that can keep us all inspired, moving, and hopeful for the positive transformation and healing that happens when we bring our talents together. The top of the track features an excerpt from a recent lecture at HDS by Professor Cornel West on ethical connection and solidarity.
Coyote Spotify Playlists
Musical medicine “mixtapes” to help soothe, inspire and energize the heroic caregivers on the frontlines of the coronavirus.
A playlist for each week, a song for each day.
Curated with infinite gratitude, love and light, by Lindsay.
Week one
Week two
Week three
About
Lindsay Sanwald (aka Idgy Dean) is a musical artist and creative producer from Brooklyn, New York. She devoted a decade of her life to writing, recording, and touring her mystical/queer/feminist one-woman psychedelic rock shows across the USA and abroad. Lindsay is a trained Tantrika yogini in the ISHTA lineage. She teaches Kriya meditation, Kirtan, coordinates spiritual retreats, and pastors part-time as a sober bartender. At Harvard Divinity School, she is studying ancient Vedic literature, early Christian thought, ministry, philosophy, mysticism, music ritual, and writing.
Kim Mahoney
Being a bystander to those most impacted by the pandemic leaves many of us without words. Harvard Divinity School student Miles Dupuis Carey drafts a poem that uncovers the shame of dwelling in the sidelines as part of the “Beauty in a Broken World” Coyote Chaplaincy.
Mark your calendars for February 1, 2024! The Resiliency Center and the Center for Health Ethics, Arts, and Humanities are gearing up for the sixth Healthcare Stories event at Kingsbury Hall. This year's captivating theme, "Promise," invites healthcare professionals, patients, and community members to explore futures imagined, unexpected journeys, and transformative relationships.
University of Utah Black Cultural Center’s Meligha Garfield and Sara Cody share insights on celebrating Juneteenth respectfully and emphasize the importance of understanding its history to avoid misappropriation.