Poet: Jason Fraley
Did the visual artist refract any element of the poem that made you see the poem differently?
I had not imagined the tunnel aspect of this poem so clearly. Jim did a fantastic job of replicating a tunnel that looks very much like the tunnels plowing through West Virginia's mountains. The idea of this scene taking place in a darkened world until the very end, until the
burning house is approached, gives the poem a different aura or atmosphere than what I had otherwise envisioned.
If your poem were a weather pattern, what would it be?
A clipper front—the warm winds preceding the front are just a tease for the cold and biting wind that follows. I grew up wanting to be a meteorologist, so this is the perfect question.
If the broadside collaboration were a land formation, what would it be?
An iceberg surrounded by warm water.
What did you think an artist would pick up on from your poem?
Honestly, I had no expectations going into this collaboration insofar as what I expected the artist to portray. Projecting my visual demands in any way would have made this much more difficult. I'm always surprised at what other people take away from my writing. That's one reason I very much try to establish a dream-like or surreal atmosphere when I write. Yes, I am trying to say something but not in a conventional way.
What surprised you about this collaborative piece?
This collaboration came together much more easily and successfully than I imagined. Jim picked up on the isolation / self-examination ideas littered throughout and portrayed them in a way that thrills the existential part of my soul senseless.
Read any good books lately?
A Thousand Years of Non-Linear History by Manuel De Landa and Mao II by Don DeLillo are both excellent. I haven't bought any (chap)books of poetry in awhile, just journals. I intend to address this issue soon.
Seen any good art exhibits lately?
Unfortunately, no. The latest issue of Fence does have some spiffy artwork, though.
If my poem were a Pez, what type / flavor would it be?
I would be a grape Pez that had been dropped on the floor and subsequently eaten all the while adhering to the five second rule.
Anything else?
This is probably one of the most enjoyable and unique poetry projects in which I've had the opportunity to participate. It's good to see this form alive and kicking.
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Artist: Jim Benning
In what sense did the poem first present itself as a collaboration with a visual medium? Did it come to you first as image? As an idea? Music? Narrative?
Mostly as an idea, I though the concept of movement, a change of space, could be presented in a narrative image.
If this poem were a weather pattern, what would it be?
A storm on the horizon. A sign of things are going to change and there is a uncertainness, a foreboding on what's to come.
If the broadside collaboration were a land formation, what would it be?
A ocean beach both sides effecting and defining each other.
What inspired you to "dibs" this poem?
The idea of a search, movement. All the things/places and associations that come to mind when one awareness of seeing is attended to. It's a process I try to assess each time I make images; what have I seen, what am I looking for, does what I see have meaning to what I feel and want to say.
Did anything surprise you about the collaboration?
Once I decided to work with the poem I set the project aside for a couple of weeks. What became interesting and I recognized later when I started to actually work on the project is the large number of images that came to me during that time. From highly abstract to still life images I feel it speaks to the strength of the words to inspire so many different ideas. Eventually I wanted a person in the image and made the photo you see here.
Read any good books lately?
My wife Karen read A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore and recommended it thinking I would like the story. This author has a sharp sense of wit and uses it well in a story of a man's misadventure as he finds out he's been to play the role of the Grim Reaper and represent death. Great fun.
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"Collected Fragments Detailing Your Journey"
