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The people of the PCI are avid artists! The above painting, by Maria Mahler, is called Conch.
It is based on the shell, not the official currency of the PCI. Just as an aside, the orginal coins of the PCI were actually
made of Conchshell, giving them their name. Mahler is a collector of the historic coins, and dedicated her painting as
a tribute to the artisans who crafted the coins all those years ago. Below is another of Mahler's
works, Blue Ferns, which won international acclaim during the 2003 Pacific Rim tour of Mahler's latest exhibition,
"Sea Breezes". To view larger pictures of Mahler's works, click on them.
Images displayed with the permission of
M. Mahler and G. Volta. Contact their offices for further information and/or licensing. The Island Journals
are under public domain, but require credit be given to Kalissa Grimm-Onur.
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The literature
of the PCI has a long and proud tradition. The discoverer of the Islands, Kalissa Grimm-Onur, kept a diary of her
exploits which is now a bestseller. Required reading for students is often viewed with disdain by pupils numbed by book
reports, but The Island Journals is so popular that students ask their teachers to put it on the curriculum. Here
is a well-known excerpt:
If I am to stay here,
What will become of my family?
If I am to return to my family,
What will become of this place?
The soft leaves caress me, and the sand on the beach kisses my toes,
I long to linger, and this land longs to hold me here
Without family, however, a leaf is but the end of a vine
The sand is nothing except the dirt of the sea
As lovely as this or any place can be,
Without family it is no home
Of course, Grimm-Onur and her family eventually
moved to the PCI with the creation of the first colony in Port Mosaviu. Her Journals have inspired thousands of authors
to write about life in the PCI; poets like Aydin Kaya and Priscella Smith; novelists like James MacDonnell and Elsie Schwarz;
and playwrights like Uwe Marcus and Cirinne Aboa. The literary culture of the PCI is now more vibrant than it has even been
in its history. Kalissa Grimm-Onur would be proud.
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Music
is the driving force of Coralian culture. From shore to shore, the Islands ring with the melodious sound of sea
shanties, celebratory anthems, hymns, and the latest dance tunes. One rising pop star from Eljung Province's musically-rich
North Coast is Grace Volta, the lead singer of the hit group Keliz. Seen below, Volta is famous for her engaging
personality and fantastically complex harmonic techno-remixes of the country's traditional working songs.
When not touring around the PCI, Keliz often plays to audiences in the most renowned danceclub
of Teak Beach, the Dawnhouse; where that other superstar from the PCI, Emir, recorded his now-classic CD Dir
Seni. Dir Seni sold more copies than there are households in the country. The Keliz song Pizzicato
Pulse is below.
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