Tabita Doujad: I’m a first-year student at Hampshire College, and I’m enrolled in the College’s first-year Pandemics seminar. I came to Hampshire after taking some time after high school to travel and work on organic farms. I’ve worked as a photographer and as a live-in nanny internationally. I enjoy learning about the diversity of the human experience through studies of cultural anthropology and poetry, both in academia and in my free time. I’m deeply excited about oral history initiatives like the Hampshire College COVID-19 Oral History Archive project; I’m interested in the ways that human stories and languages can serve as vessels that hold and sustain both our individual memories and our collective communities.
Corey Laitman is a musician who currently resides in Turners Falls (Montague), Massachusetts. They have been singing and writing music since they were a child, and have been working professionally as a musician for several years. Corey began their career as a musician in the Brooklyn, NY, “anti-folk” scene. Their album, Seafoam, is currently available on Spotify. Throughout the COVID19 pandemic, Corey has worked in collaboration with other artists, creating music that speaks to and beyond the moment that we are all living through. Corey writes lyrics that resonate deeply with listeners who “are interested in being in conversation about how to feel their feelings.” Their song, “Marching Band,” from their album, Seafoam, was recognized alongside Bob Dylan’s work in NPR’s “Public Radio’s Favorite Songs Of 2020.”
Reflection Statement: This interview was a joy to take part in; it felt like an example of the best kind of connection that can be found within the limits of a digitally supported, COVID-19 conversation. Corey and I talked about their music, their song-writing practice, their journey as a musician, and their experience in the pandemic as it was particular to their life and work, and it was wonderful to catch this glimpse into their world. My hope is that this interview will speak to people of many different practices and trades who are interested in learning about what it was like to create and connect during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when many traditional ways of being and creating were restricted and changed significantly.
I learned a lot from Corey’s wisdom in our conversation. From Corey, I understood that the practice of creating artistic work calls us to continually anchor ourselves in each new moment at hand, to take in all that is unfolding around us and within us. If we do this, perhaps our work will speak to the moment we inhabit, and maybe even better prepare us to move into moments beyond. Art can be a path into a wiser, better-connected future.