Know Before You Go
Off Front Avenue NW, not far from Blue Footbridgein front of John C. Kennedy School of EngineeringGrand Valley State University (Grand Rapids Campus)
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Waiting for the Grwost
Outside Grand Valley State University, you'll find a bench upon which many were said to have sat according to the fictional Kcymaerxthaere, waiting for a guide of time.
Created by Geographer-at-Large Eames Demetrios, Kcymaerxthaere is a “parallel universe that intersects with much of our linear Earth, but with different stories, creatures, peoples, even laws of physics and qualities of existence.” It has been likened to a novel with every page in a different place. What makes the Kcymaerxthaere project particularly interesting is that Demetrios installs informative markers and historical sites at the locations in our world that connect to his world, creating real world intersections with his imagined universe. For the months of August and September, 2014, Demetrios acted as our first ever Geographer-in-Residence and his Kcymaerxthaere locations continue to be featured all over the Atlas. To learn more see our introductory article here!
One of Grand Rapid’s Kcymaerxthaereal markers concerns this excellent replica of an Aywatin Bench. It was collected early on in Park Lee Taf’s development of the Museum of the Bench site. As was his practice, though he took the original, he left behind a stunningly precise copy. Even today, fragments of the original are occasionally reported not far from the original ad hoc visitor’s center of the Museum.
The history of this place was, of course, intimately related to that of the ywreng that roughly approximated the path of the river. A similar place of waiting, with more tragic consequences, can be found about a mile upriver at Forest’s Rest. In general, individuals passed this particular ywreng easily, though large armies would find themselves literally decimated–in the original sense of the word.
Contributed by
jase
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