Honorable mention: "1040A" - Sara Adams
In visual poetry, an image is created. In some instances, the image challenges the viewer in an uncertain manner. Maybe it is something familiar, something cultural, something that defines a key characteristic of our society, but altered, almost disturbing in a nearly unconscious manner. We know something is missing, and it can be that very missing space which reminds us of the fragile nature of individual identity in the amalgamation of our social contract.
What is more universal than death and taxes? But what if the taxes themselves were effaced? What if all the numbers: income, social security, withholdings—the numbers that define our transactional society, were removed, save one? Save the one that is us? This is what Sara Adams does in this deceptively simple rendering of the ubiquitous 1040A form. The visual impact seems impersonal, nothing to make the individual, a bureaucratic white space, save for the "1", the zeroes, and the final "1". The "1" that reminds us we are there.
Visual Poetry Award Winner: "Snow" - CJ Sheu
There are many diverse iterations of what constitutes visual poetry. In one aspect, actual discernable letters are used. However, these letters can move, mutate, rearrange themselves in ways that can direct and/or challenge the eye or gaze. No two letters, no two words, no two poems seem alike in CJ Sheu's "Snow". Like its referential title, the type seems to fall down the page, white on black, like a gentle snowstorm in the night. But the darkness brings with it some apprehension, as if something not quite perceived, not quite understood. When you look at the "snow" some disconcerting or disturbing voices are seen: "no", "no no", "on", "won", "now", "own". These emerge and fade back into the "snow". The visual nature cannot be ignored; the "w"s, the "o"s, the "n"s, and the "s"s all seem to lull the eye. The overall effect is surprising, a combination of calm and disorientation, an impressive accomplishment!
What do we look for in terms of visual poetry? The two award winners offer examples, but not limits for submission. Much in a basic way, is subjective. However, several points can be kept in mind. (1) If we have many submissions of one kind: for example, poems in the shape of an object, e.g., an animal, vegetable, etc., we are likely to only take one such visual poem-be unexpected. (2) We are limited regarding the size of the page and color can be problematic-those are some unfortunate limits, so please see if your visual poem would translate well and in enough detail in the format of the journal. (3) We are not just looking for interesting and appealing images, there must be some element of poetry—be able to define that in your mind and hopefully we will be able to see it too.
About the contributors:
Sara Adams’ chapbooks include Poems for Ivan (Porkbelly Press), Western Diseases (dancing girl press), Think Like a B (Trump erasure poems; SOd press; free to download!). and six Ghost City Press Summer Series Micro-chaps (also free to download). Check out more of Sara’s work, including chapbook links, at kartoshkaaaaa.com.
Chingshun J. Sheu is Assistant Professor of Applied English at Ming Chuan University in Taoyuan, Taiwan. He's also Taiwan's premier Anglophone film critic, indexed on Rotten Tomatoes as CJ Sheu. Tweet at him @cj_sheu.
