Resounding success: Tom Shakespeare finds Quakerly hopefulness in the luthier’s art and music

25 Mar 2021 | by Tom Shakespeare

‘If we love what grows silently in our midst, how could we not love what is made from it?’

‘Wood can resonate in a deeply individual way so that the player becomes one with the instrument, and a personal relationship grows between them.’ | Photo: courtesy Juliet Gutch

In the 2020 Swarthmore Lecture, I wrote, optimistically, that we can rediscover hope in the silent waiting of Quaker worship. I recently discovered a visual metaphor for that hope and that stillness which I want to share. At present, an example hangs above the desk at which I work, and where I sit in silence as the computer screen links me via Zoom to other members of Wymondham Meeting.

You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.