Since last summer, I have been reading about color at the same time I have been working on a new quilt. It is important for me, as a literary artist, to have something engaging that is mostly non-verbal. Gardening, quilting, knitting, cooking, and especially the instant gratification of photography offer resting places when I feel myself growing overly heady and wordy. Nonetheless, words inform my understanding of all of these other fields and help to sharpen my visual perceptions.
Last December, my friend, poet Barbara Geary Truan, introduced me to the work of painter, teacher, and color theorist Josef Albers. She had recently seen an exhibition of his work, a slice of his famous “Homage to the Square,” which challenges what the viewer knows about color with startling and subtle juxtapositions. Recently, she and I had a conversation that made us realize that we had both been pondering an idea from color theory–that colors aren’t stable, that they shift depending upon what other tones, hues, tints, colors to which they are adjacent–and applying it to language. Words, too, shift. Meanings shade and nuances, as well as connotations, bloom and change depending upon context.
This book not only has intriguing content, it is wonderfully designed, and it includes a “Glossary of other interesting colors.” (Yes, I have inked in even more color names!)
For me, the shuttling back and forth between visual beauty and verbal art weaves through the texture of my days, gives my life more depth and delight. I suspect that this is the same for you, too. (Add in scent and sound and motion and there is never a moment not to be engaged by the offerings of the world and the thoughts of how one might engage with life and art.) For me, this is the fountain head of Poetry-with-a-capital-P, not only the words arranged on the page in an individual poem to summon the inner and outer worlds, but everything that makes the kalidascopic page possible.
Enough words for today! Below are a few more images.
Wishing you all the joy of your senses today, and all the reverberations it brings to your thoughts,
LESLIE
Inspiration for the Christmas Quilt–a card we sent years ago from the Metropolitan Museum of ArtCenter block of the quilt under constructionAmerican Swedish Institute, Exterior, 2016American Swedish Institute Exhibit, 2026
Part of the fun of working on a novel is trying to enter the mind and experience of someone Not-You. Someone else. In the novel that Tim and I are making, we have set the story in 1979, in a small town in Northern California. Two of the characters are poets. One of the poets is a college student, born in 1960. The other was born in 1927 and serves as a host and mentor for the younger poet.
One way that I have tried to get into the minds of these two characters is to write poems for them. What would interest them, catch their attention? How would they convey this in a poem? So far, for each character, I have written five or six poems. Only two or three might appear in the novel itself, but…what can I say? It is fun to fashion new poems.
Recently, I became curious about other novels that have protagonists who are fictional poets. I could not recall very many. There are many delightful novels that depict actual poets and one, Baron Wormser’s The Poetry Life, depicts the effects of poetry (by actual poets) on the lives of fictional characters.
But when it comes to main characters who are poets, with no lives outside of fiction, I could only think of Swann, by Carol Shields, and the trio of young adult books featuring Emily Starr of New Moon Farm by L. M. Montgomery. (If you know of any others, please let me know!)
In the couple of years since I served as a poetic scribe for our two characters, I have wondered if their voices would be clearly discernable to anyone else. Or, perhaps, do all the poems simply sound like me? It is an interesting thought exercise, but not one I can wrestle to the ground on my own, so I thought I would ask you.
What do you think? Below are six poems. In a future post, I will reveal which poem was written by/for each character, and also (should you like to weigh in) how many correct guesses each poem received. You can weigh in (“Older Poet” or “Younger Poet”) for any or all titles either in the Comments Section below or by emailing me at winonapoet@gmail.com. Thanks, in advance, for your thoughts!
Last evening’s Echoes & Shadows Poet-Artist Collaboration was well attended, dynamic, and thought-provoking.
To get the full effect (images of art, poems, and artist statements) the best option is to use this link (scroll down a bit!). This will give you the feeling of an exclusive tour of the gallery show. Of course, if you are nearby, you can come in and see the show for yourself, which is the best way to view the art.
My photos really don’t do justice to the event, but I am including a few just to give you a feeling of the energy of the gathering. Some artists were also poets, and some artists took on more than one poem to interpret. For poets and artists alike, both beginning and long-time practioners were represented, and all the work was well executed. All told, I believe more than 60 people attended this lively event.
Emcees and participating poets D.E. Green and Becky BolingArtist Darla DeLong, describing her work, “Different Views,” inspired by the poem, “Seat Assignment,” by Heather Candels“Different Views” by Darla DeLongArtist Patsy Dew, describing her work, “Last September,” inspired by the poem of the same name by Craig EvensonPoet Sharol Nau in the gallery next to her poem, “Winter Thoughts,” with art by Charlie SkinnerArtist and FiftyNorth Program Coordinator Michelle Brant in the gallery, with her piece titled “Muscle Memory,” inspired the poem of the same name by Pamela Thompson“Destination,” by Christine Otis-Skinner, inspired by Susan Jaret McKinstry’s poem of the same nameMarie Gehry, who helped to organize the event, participated as both poet and visual artist, and also read for poets and artists who could not be presentPat Jorstad’s multi-layered art work, “Hope for Peace,” with cranes made by Paula Gargarry, based on my poem, “A Gesture of Peace”Me, reading “A Gesture of Peace” beside the image of Pat Jorstad’s canvas
Thank you, FiftyNorth, for creating a much-needed occasion for exuberant sharing of words and images this spring!
I have a collection of ones that I bought, ones that were sent to me, and ones that were given to me by dear departed friends, Elvin and Corrine Heiberg. Some are pristine, some were battered in the mail nearly a hundred years ago. This collection, a small fraction of which is pictured above, inspired my poem, “A Cache of Antique Postcards.” If you would like to read it in the newest issue of Third Wednesday, you can download a free issue HERE. I am very glad to be in the company of the poets listed below, and I look forward to reading their poems soon!
A special event is being held tomorrow from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at FiftyNorth, located at 1651 Jefferson Parkway. You can have a preview if you follow the above link and scroll down.
This year, inspired by the long-running Poet-Artist Collaboration (begun in Zumbrota, Minnesota, and now transplanted to Red Wing, Minnesota), FiftyNorth Program Coordinator Michelle Loken took the idea and gave it a local twist.
At the beginning of the new year, local poets were invited to submit poems, and then the sumbitted poems were selected by local visual artists who were drawn to create an art work inspired by their selected poem. One of my poems, “A Gesture of Peace,” was chosen by an artist I haven’t yet met, Pat Jorstad. I am looking forward to the Artists Reception in the Gallery, starting at 4:00 p.m., to reading my poem in Room 103 (Reading starts around 4:30 p.m.), to seeing and hearing the work of all these other artists, and to seeing some old friends and meeting a few new people.
As for my own inspiration to write the poem? The life and work of my friend, Kaz, who is currently in Japan on his own version of a vacation: first spending six days to walk the entire circuit of Shodo Island (120 miles; 88 temples) while praying for world peace; then traveling to the Noto Pennisula to help, through his skill as a doctor of acupuncture, those affected by the devastating earthquake that struck there on New Year’s Day.
One of Kaz’s Mobiles Hung from a Cactus SpineKazuhiko WataseDawn on Shodo Island (Photo: Kaz Watase)Shodo Shrine (Photo: Kaz Watase)Middle of the Journey (Photo: Kaz Watase)Daisies on Shodo Island (Photo: Kaz Watase)End of Journey (120 miles walk in six days) (Photo: Kaz Watase)Kazuhiko Watas]
I greatly appreciated being able to follow Kaz’s progress on this journey through his texts, photos, and video clips. Thank you, Kaz, for your inspiring presence, and for your permission to share these stories and images!
