Rea and the Squaw

Rea and the Squaw is a kinetic poetry piece I created three months after my Grandma Rea died at the age of 96 on December 18, 2012. When she died, I was left with: memories, some pictures, and pages and pages of her unpublished and published poetry. So I began to dissect her poetry, dissect each word. And then I couldn’t stop. I wanted to mold her words, shift them, strain them. I wanted to understand where these words could be cornered, shaped, and colored. I cherished them, chained them, tamed, and mazed them. I sized and seized them. Who was this woman? How has she influenced who I am as a person? As a poet? The words on the digital interface are hers, and the particular shaping, movement, and coloring of the words is proof that I’ve traversed them.

(Source: ELO conference: First Encounters 2014)