About
Project
Oral Florist is a sound library of artists reading aloud texts they encounter in their daily lives. Much as it might be exciting to see which seashells a sculptor picks up from a sandy beach, Oral Florist is a sampling of language found and recorded by people who work closely with words to make art.
These recordings are an ode to the joy of being startled by language, of reading something that makes you feel a feeling you weren’t expecting, at a time when you were not expecting to feel anything. These recordings are evidence that, in a life carefully noticed, one might be able to find playfulness and humor and love and beauty and sadness in many places that lie outside the confines of what is typically categorized as “literature.”
It is important to note that, although much of the language we consume is anonymous, language, unlike a seashell, is always the byproduct of a human consciousness. Whenever an author of a selected text is known that author, or group of authors, and where or how the text was encountered, is named. My great hope for this project is that it will be a low-stakes treasure chest of fake pearls and rare jewels, and that, depending on the listener, what is a fake pearl and what is a rare jewel might switch.
Perhaps some of these texts will move you and some will leave you wanting. The recordings have done their work if you are listening.
Subscribe to the Oral Florist podcast to get notified when there is a new recording.
twitter.com/oralflorist
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Oral Florist is arranged by Rita Bullwinkel and made possible by the generous support of Minnesota St Project Adjacent.
For press inquiries, please email press@minnesotastreetproject.com
Design by @paperbeatsscissors
All flower petals and plant parts on this site were sourced from Flowers of the Valley, a wonderful florist in San Francisco, and from wildflowers found on long walks in Bernal Heights. All flowers were selected, dissected and photographed by Jenna Garrett.
Rita Bullwinkel headshot photo credit: Jenna Garrett
Oral Florist objects photo credit: Lindsay Albert
Artist
Rita Bullwinkel is the author of the story collection Belly Up, which won the 2018 Believer Book Award. She is an Editor at Large for McSweeney’s and a Contributing Editor for NOON. She lives in San Francisco and teaches at the California College of the Arts.
Adjacent
Adjacent is a space where art happens online. Collaborating with galleries, creators, and partners around the world, the site showcases virtual talks, live performances, and more.
Adjacent is a direct response to the 2020 pandemic, re-imagining and re-contextualizing the Arts in this new reality. The site is an extension of the Minnesota Street Project’s physical space in San Francisco — breaking boundaries, inspiring curiosity, and championing conversations about the Arts.