Poet: Stacie Cassarino
What did you think an artist would pick up on from your poem?
a landscape that reflects the internal state of the speaker; the capture of loss
Did the visual artist refract any element of the poem that made you see the poem differently?
the air, even breathing, has weight
What surprised you about this collaborative piece?
that the visual articulation of a poem that for me feels so abstract was rendered in a non-abstract, more realist way, yet still contains all of the mood of the poemscape
Have you ever written work that has been inspired by visual art? What was that experience like for you? Why were you inspired to do so?
yes, i've written poems that were in some way a direct response to visual art; i've turned to visual art that in some way articulated an idea i was working towards in words; i've collaborated in "dialogues" of images & words exchanged cyclically with visual artists. i've always loved the experience for how it's pushed me to develop words into images & images into words.
If you had to represent the Broadsided of "In Our Time" with one word, what would it be?
quiet
Read any good books lately?
richard wright's native son
Seen any good art lately?
a butoh theatre performance of beckett. papershapers - an installation of works of art with paper
Any upcoming readings for your new book that people should know about?
june 13th at skylight books, 5pm (in the los feliz neighborhood of los angeles)
Anything else?
thanks for this experience
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Artist: Caleb Brown
What inspires me?
This poem just grabbed me right away, or I felt myself grabbing toward it. It has a blank, bright all-over illumination like a winter day with wan sun, and there's a lot of space around. The quiet and solitude in between the words is something I appreciate, and the solemnity and sadness of the story I see in myself. I liked the way the images ricochet around—emptiness to erasure to "nothing to confide in".
What surprises me (once artwork and poem together)?
From the first reading I knew I wanted my accompanying artwork to be narrative, to match the way the poem struck me, and how we endure loss and grief and winter generally—with a sense of time passing without duration. It's funny, there's definitely stasis here, but decision, motion, and I wanted to respond in kind. I decided that the comic had to be read "up" (after reading the poem "down") and was worried that that wouldn't make sense. I'm surprised that it does, or it doesn't matter. You could even read back and forth, there are real events on each side. And if you do read it in a circle, there's a parallel to the circles in the text. The diagonals are important too, I found the physicality of the poem fun to interpret.
How do/did I begin?
For this piece I settled on a few words and phrases that hit me hard. The first was the sensation of being a stranger in your own life, the second was the sensation of a difficult Sunday—I know that feeling well! I did a bunch of sketches of footsteps next, a drawing where the footprints are actually in the squares of a calendar, as though the narrator was walking the time that had passed. I then did some snowshoe research, and found some interesting material in National Geographic. It occurred to me to do colored exhalations/hearts last, and I feel great about how they work on several levels. I think of them as the progress of this love, or words, like visible substance of Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love", although that story is quite different. The conventions of comics, what floating hearts are supposed to mean, for instance was helpful.
One word?
Amassing
Good books?
It may be obvious, but I am loosing my inner comic artist, and Scott McCloud is my guide. I am blown away by Understanding Comics, I really know so little. As an artist and as a person making a living improving web interfaces this is an influential work. I love what he says about sequence, perception, and classifying action. Darn, I had to return the book to the library today to avoid a fine... No more renewals!
Good art?
I saw a fantastic Wayne McDowell show at Chase Gallery in Boston in November 2008, was captivated by his pleasant and fractured paintings of totemic trees against buttery skies. There's something very generous about his landscapes.
Anything else?
No, not really. I do want to say again what a privilege it is to work with such talented writers who feel so clearly. It is always so helpful for me to step out of my routine and connect with poetry this way, it's like one deep breath after 100 shallow ones. Thanks to the incredible Broadsided staff for bringing us into proximity.
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