he unique link that these particular poems share is that they were all created based on music. Specifically, I wrote each to an album of inspiration. I created 12 poems for each poetic “album.” So 12 poems inspired by The Stooges’ Funhouse or Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew, etc. In this way, I created works that were long enough to be considered a holistic piece of artwork, but short enough to be consumed quickly. Further, these were to be distributed freely and subversively: stuck to the covers of newspapers in the machine, stuck to the covers of the corresponding CDs at the library or at a record store, etc. Readers could read on the way to work or alongside the album of inspiration. The idea was to piggyback familiar culture to reintroduce poetry, to show that poetry can be the vanguard of voice, relevant and consumable.
Why was I inspired to do this?
In a sentence; I was inspired out of desperation for the art form of poetry, which I was born to create.
Without audience there is no consumption; an artist is a polished shell with no yoke. As a poor poet, my art form is kept alive by a few with a specialized love (thank you!); a fetishism of intellectual culture. I was inspired to create something born-in of the streets, subversive, and, more importantly, unavoidable. Hopefully, the audience of poetry would reconstitute and grow over time to the point that someday my work would be sought out. Read.
Individual poem notes:
“Fawning”
Is part of the set inspired by, John Coltrane’s album Stellar Regions.
“A Season to Remember”
Is part of the set inspired by, Joy Divison’s album Still.
“Vaquero and Hustlers”
Is part of the set inspired by The Stooges’ Funhouse.
Vaquero is a word for “cowboy” in Spanish and was particularly
popular for use in Texas.
“Hell’s Fall Festival”
Is part of the set inspired by The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.”
“Sweaty Puppet”
Is part of the set inspired by Metallica’s Master of Puppets.
