Poemography
In my writing, the challenge I give myself is to be as clear and direct as I can, while maintaining a strict count and a pretty strict rhyme. I often try not to have the rhyme match the syntax so that when spoken, the rhyme all but disappears. I write “occasionally”—that is to say that much of my work is specific to a particular occasion; a holiday for example—Valentines Day, Passover, or Holiday-New Year—or event—my wedding/commitment ceremony ,annual birthday, tribute, or ceremony. No small portion of them are about family, both immediate and more extended (which of course includes friends), and the vast majority speak of the power of vision.
In my holiday card for 1999, I first put poem and picture together. But it was with 2000’s holiday greeting that the photo related to the poem’s text, and with 2002’s holiday greeting it became even more of a unified whole. Over the years, I’ve added multiple images, and increased the relationship between words and images. I call this work poemography.
In looking at these pieces, please remember that they were originally created to be printed–and as a consequence, their size doesn’t necessarily translate well to the monitor. So use your zoom to get a better of view of the words if necessary.
