Why this poem? An answer by artist Jenny Bevill: Not surprisingly with Dickinson, it’s a sad story. My mom died in May after a short but intense and completely unexpected battle with cancer. I’d been trying to write thank you notes to all the people who helped us out during her illness but I just hadn’t been able to do it. I was overwhelmed with not knowing how to express my feelings. Then I read …
Collaborators’ Q&A: Artist Elizabeth Terhune: Many things strike me about this poem. The inverted checklist structure (it was not this, because . . .). The slow pace. Her brilliant language, “for all the Bells/put out their Tongues, for Noon.” The stunning conclusion: “Chaos — stopless — cool” always shocks me.
Artist Elizabeth Terhune has exhibited widely throughout the United States. Her most recent shows include a two-person show at Feast Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY, a four-person show at Metaphor Contemporary Art in Brooklyn, NY, and a one-person exhibition at the Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY.
Why this poem? An answer by artist Jen P. Harris: I chose this poem because I loved the image of “a heart in port.” The spirit of the poem meshed nicely with the images of love and desire I’ve been working with for a few years now.
Collaborators’ Q&A: Artist Meghan Keane: For me, art is making something transform from what is expected to what is unexpected and complex and beautiful (even if it’s dark and haunting); that process is tactile, using the body as a tool for manipulating materials.
Artist Meghan Keane is a teaching artist at Kentler International Drawing Space and a visiting alumni artist at the Brooklyn College art department printshop.
Collaborators’ Q&A: Artist Elizabeth Terhune: Like many people, I respond to Dickinson’s incredible compression, her inventiveness. In this case, I particularly liked how the poem opens up at the end (by quieting down a bit?). Also, her wildly fun sense of image and language…It is both intensely personal, her vulnerability is felt, but also, with the reference to “prisons broad,” connects to circumstances beyond herself. It’s a wonderful poem to have in one’s head.
Artist Elizabeth Terhune has exhibited widely throughout the United States. Her most recent shows include a two-person show at Feast Gallery in Saratoga Springs, NY, a four-person show at Metaphor Contemporary Art in Brooklyn, NY, and a one-person exhibition at the Lake George Arts Project, Lake George, NY.