Description:
The monument in which Counterpoint, by Jane Barnes is engraved, is located directly across from Back Bay Station and is nestled in front of the revolving back door of Copley Plaza. I noticed that the monument was built on top of a piece of round cement which strongly resembles a sun dial. It has eight cuts in the inside and fifteen on the outside, with three shaped pillars built on top. Although the pillar in which Counterpoint is written has some rust on its bottom portion, it stands strong, with text of the engraved etched clearly on all four sides. Interestingly, Counterpoint has to do with the passage of time, which is why I think that the slab of cement, with its carefully laid out interior and exterior pieces, is meant to resemble a sun dial.
About the Author:
Jane Barnes is a poet and fiction writer who lives in the Boston area. She went to undergraduate school at Georgia State University, where she majored in Russian and Spanish. She received her Masters from Boston University, where she attended graduate school on a scholarship. Barnes has written various books, pieces of fiction and poetry.
Response:
This monument, although mostly overlooked by hurried Bostonians, once had profound significance to the community. With the bottom platform shaped like a sundial, the physical layout speaks in a sense about the passage of time, which is ironically located near a busy metropolitan street corner, where people are so rushed that they bypass the structure almost entirely. Counterpoint itself is about Kate and Tom, a couple who initially quarrel over the fact that he paid the rent late. When Tom suggests that it shouldn't be embarrassing because they don't even know the landlord, Kate asks herself, "What is this counterpoint?" Although almost nobody seems to stop and pay attention to the monument, I personally think the monument is thought provoking and instills a reminder to think deeply and ask questions about how we're all living, in a bustling metropolitan location. Further, the text suggests a lot about human nature, inviting those who do stop to read it, to ask questions about evolution, relationships, memories of the past, etc.
By Brooke Vilim.
