Meet Pascal
All That Is Under Our Feet
by Pascal Glock, Songwriter-in-Residence at the Harrison Center
Last time I was here, I wrote about trees. This summer, I'm writing about dirt.
My name is Pascal Glock. I'm a songwriter from France and the current songwriter-in-residence at the Harrison Center. My project this summer is about the ground—literally and metaphorically. It's about what lies beneath us, what holds us up, and what stories live in the soil we walk on.
Basements. Pavement. Grass. Graves. Bugs. Mud. Seeds. Rest.
As I walk the neighborhood, meet associations, talk to neighbors, and sit in the parks of Martindale-Brightwood, I think about how much is happening under our feet. Dig a hole, and you might find a treasure. Or a pipe. Or a root. Or the bones of a history that hasn't been told yet.
To dig is to uncover, to bring to light. To pave is to prepare a way. Both are acts of intention. Both are about shaping what's below so something above can grow.
We're here to bear witness to the foundations. Not just metaphorically, but literally—what is built, what is planted, what is dormant, what is rooted.
The earth under our feet tells stories. It carries remnants of the past. It holds weight—physical, emotional, historical. Someday we return to it. Someday we lift up from it.
Under our feet is property. Ownership. Transience.
Under our feet is earth. Bearing. Labor.
Under our feet is Soil. Toil. Sweat.
In this residency, I'm writing songs about what connects us to place—songs about puddles, sidewalks, potholes, and gardens. I'm exploring Martindale-Brightwood not just as a map or a neighborhood, but as a foundation—a place where people live, labor, dream, and stand.
Careful! He who quarries stones may be hurt by them.
This summer, I'm putting my hand to the plough, cleaning out gutters, sifting dust, and listening for songs that have been buried, waiting.
We lie down. We kneel. We kiss the feet.
The highest point sits on the lowest.
We reach up, we push down, we bounce off.
We're grounded. We're growing.
We're here.