Curiaudio began in 2009, originally inspired by the film Il Postino, wherein fisherman-cum-postman Mario Ruoppolo finds himself developing a friendship with Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who has been exiled to his small Italian island. When (*spoiler alert*) Neruda leaves the island at the end of the film, Mario consoles himself by making recordings of the island — the night sky, the waves, his pregnant wife’s belly — to send to his friend so that he might never forget their friendship. I watched the film in Mexico City with my friend Alejandra who, because of our joint love of travel and radio, asked me to do the same for her and I said I would.
For the longest time, I didn’t. But when the two of us found ourselves at home in different countries with new babies, it seemed the perfect opportunity to make good on a promise. Since then this project has changed and grown. It began in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and currently resides in Calgary, Alberta. I added photos, took them away, then put them back again. I added poems. Some of the poems have been previously published, some are due to be published, and some are meant just as little captions. Don’t be surprised if the words change from time to time as I muck about.
Oh yes, and Ale and I now have five kids between us.
My hope is that if you’ve found your way here, that radio and field recordings and deep listening are as important to you as they are to me. If you find yourself in need of any of these sounds for your own audio work, please feel free to borrow. (And drop me a line — I’d love to know where they end up!)
curiaudio recordings can also be found on soundcloud.com
~ Monica Kidd