Beyond Words

“My heart is devoted to the kindness of humankind”, Carly Florentine writes on her website.

Carly is a writer, creator, philosopher, scientist, activist, poet, musician, artist, photographer...but above all, she is human. A teller of tales, a lover of love, a dreamer of dreams. Her love affair with words and the philosophical entrepreneurship of expression has taken her on a beautiful journey of personal development, discovery and healing, whilst enabling her to reach out to others (sometimes in the most unexpected ways).

I met Carly at Music School in London last year. Cheesy as it sounds, our passion for music and human connection brought us together. I admire her wonderfully expressive spirit. Similar to the way I write lyrics and melody, she talks about exploring “words as a medium for expression,” often contrasted with notions of silence or simple suggestion. The song ‘In a Manner of Speaking’ demonstrates this in the lyrics - “Give me the words...You told me everything by saying nothing”.

Music is one of those incredible things where the connection you feel can’t be described or explained. It’s hearing, it’s feeling....it’s healing. Much of Carly’s work focuses on the relationship between art, science, philosophy and human connection. With music, and the stories behind the songs, it’s about finding something in it that means something to you. That’s when you unlock the magic. For Carly, David Bowie soundtracks her days, and is omnipresent in her thoughts. She says “when I fully comprehend the lyrics (to ‘Wild is the Wind’) I find a special message and can imagine it for me. When he says ‘like the leaf clings to the tree, oh my darling, cling to me’, it summarises my existence because it is hard. I am happy to cling to him wherever I may find him, even if that is in something as elusive as the wind.”

Having always had a thirst for knowledge and a powerful desire to do good, Carly regards herself as a “classic artist”. She studied social sciences in college, but has always had a huge love for linguistics. Exploring the world of words, and the immense power they (or the absence of them) can have. Instead of initially going to university, (which she eventually did to study Philosophy), she learnt a lot about herself while travelling. Searching for experiences and adventures. This attitude she has kept throughout her life, as well as embedded in all her creative work. She describes the universe itself as “a work of art that acts as an educational establishment in the form of an extraordinary playground.” I absolutely love and relate to this concept. Part of my World Performance degree at drama school was exploring a practice called ‘The Theatre Playground’, developed by our course leader Ramiro Silveira. It is a collection of techniques inspired by different practitioners, providing a unique environment to play, relate, engage and explore new connections when creating.

Carly spends a lot of time, like many people I know, on the tube in London. She says how she loathes it, consoling herself with books, but on occasion she also witnesses the joy of it. She calls it “a front row seat in the theatre of other people, getting out of my own head and considering the lives and thoughts of them, my fellow humans. For minutes we inhabit the same world and connect via a shared experience. That rare moment when we are part of each other’s lives.” I find the way she writes so uplifting, poetic and inspiring, always exploring the romantic nature of reality. In her project ‘The Not So Random Readership’, she started a culture of sharing, by leaving notes inside books ‘gifted’ to people on the tube. She signs the cover of the books with her cat’s instagram handle - as she says “a cat’s social media account is somehow even more obscure than complete namelessness.” These secret, sincere acts of kindness and generosity capture, for me, the reason we are all here.

So many things have changed for so many people over the last few months due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It‘s been overwhelming. Now people are feeling the pressure to return to some kind of normality whilst feeling a bit ‘behind with life’, as Carly puts it. Self care and adopting a strong self-healing practice has helped her feel more focused and balanced during this time. Currently she’s reading the

dictionary and writing a book to her younger self - of everything she wishes she’d known. Thank you Carly, for allowing me to share an insight into your creative story. You really do capture a world beyond words.

Follow her here:

@carlyflorentine

www.cflorentine.com

www.carlyflorentine.com

www.carlyflorentineofficial.com

Until next time!