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November 21, 2008
Moved to write poetry
Event mixes inspiring images and words.
OLGA LIVSHIN
Many people associate great works of literature with paintings and sculptures. Homer and Dante, Greek mythology and the Bible all kindled some of the best visual art of the last millennium. But how often does the opposite happen?
"This is the first event of its kind, when the paintings provide inspiration for poetry," said Nicole Nozick, the director of the Cherie Smith JCCGV Jewish Book Festival.
Nozick was referring to the poetry and visual art celebration Echoing Voices, which took place at the Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Nov. 13. The book festival sponsored the event together with the Zack Gallery, Pandora's Collective and the Vancouver Artists Collective.
Currently exhibited paintings by three Vancouver artists – Sorour Abdollahi, Devora and Sidi Schaffer – served as the background for the poets reading their works.
The paintings' flowing lines and interconnected color schemes reflected in the verbal, poetic images, deepening the rapport between the audience, the poets and the artists.
During the first part of the evening, Adam Sol, an award-winning Toronto poet and the author of two previous collections of poetry, read from his new book, Jeremiah, Ohio. "Poets often derive their inspiration from other art forms," he said before the reading. "I like performing in a gallery. I'm not that good to look at," he said, grinning. "People had better look at the paintings when I read." Humor, which was apparent in Sol's personality, infused his book, too, and the public responded with giggles and outright laughter.
In Jeremiah, Ohio, Sol reinvents the biblical prophet Jeremiah but places him on the road across the modern day Ohio. Jeremiah's companion, Bruce, is a common man, lost in life and looking for direction. Together, these two unlikely partners wander around corporate-dominated America, often causing consternation or hilarity.
Sol described his book as a "novel-in-poems," where every poem is like a chapter. Its language is crystal clear, almost colloquial, and it was delivered by a professional. Sol teaches university classes – and it showed in his expressive presentation and his easy control of the audience. He joked and talked as if he were among his friends and confidants, sharing with everyone his joy in Jeremiah, Bruce and their ridiculous, unique adventure.
Sol said that he worked on the book, on and off, for a decade. He drove through Ohio a few years ago, visiting the same towns as his heroes. He experimented with their voices, both Jeremiah's high rhetoric and Bruce's mundane, low-point narrative.
"Jeremiah can't narrate himself across a room, but he can tell you a lot about how it feels to be in it," Sol quipped.
After the reading, there was a question-and-answer session. "What would we do as a society if we encountered a real prophet now?" Sol mused in response to one of the questions. "Would we listen to him? Would we call security?" Sol's poem invited people to contemplate their lives, to doubt common dogmas and to examine both social and private convictions.
Following his performance, Pandora's Collective took centre stage. The organization is a Vancouver-based charity, established to promote literacy and self-expression and to give a safe, inspiring environment to local writers of all ages. Bonnie Nish and Sita Carboni, the executive directors of Pandora's Collective, suggested that the public should first write their own verses based on the paintings on the walls. After about 15 minutes, several Pandora poets recited their works.
For them, it wasn't impromptu like for the public. A week before, they had met at the gallery for a workshop – the poems they read last week were the result. Among the writers were Robin Susanto, Maureen Egan, Christy Hill, Ryan Fletcher, Daniela Elza, Shannon Rayne Pidlubny, Marni Norwich and one of the artists, Devora. Their poems ranged from short, staccato narratives to lyrical streams of consciousness and to splashes of multi-hued emotions, all inspired by the exhibit's paintings.
The juxtaposition of words and color, of visual and audio perception, was heartwarming, pulling everyone into this undulating river of words. Surprisingly, most of the poems reflected the same paintings. Among the poets' favorites were a large work by Abdollahi, "Glimpses beyond the Edge," and an abstract in deep blues and turquoise, "The Source," by Devora. Fletcher's very personal account compared Devora's painting to a river that has been polluted and likened it to his broken heart.
After the poets, the public was given a chance to come to the mic and read their creations. A few women were brave enough to step forward. One recited a poem inspired by a Schaffer painting, which reminded her of a long-ago trip to Paris. Another read a poem dedicated to Vancouver, which seemed not linked to the paintings at all, but nobody can really trace creative outbursts and their elusive interconnections.
The evening ended with Nish, Carboni and Reisa Smiley Schneider, the gallery's art director, reading their own poems based on the art surrounding them.
The Echoes exhibit runs until Dec. 7.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer.
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