Poetry. Technology. Seems like an oxymoron. Poetry is as old as the bones of our ancestors. Technology portends our future. In his introduction to Issue 7, John "JAM" Arthur Miller discussed the combination of technology and art, and how Liquid Imagination is front and center in this emerging world.
I'm excited about our poetry section. It takes facets that can be contrary (poetry, art and technology) combining them to enhance and enliven the experience. The poetry selections are a wonderful mixture of vivid images, poignant verses, interesting characters, beginnings and endings. There is lightness and darkness here, along with old and young, life and death. The poetry is strong, whether read alone, or enjoyed with the enhancement of illustrations and interpretive music by Brandon Rucker.
And this time, we took technology one step further. As an experiment and a challenge, we selected three poems to be illustrated with a digital animation. These poems needed to have powerful poems in their own right with strong images that would not be diluted by artwork. We also asked the poets to record their poems in their own voice, creating a wonderful variety of reading styles. View these animations by clicking on the "play" buttons (these animations are best viewed over broadband connections), and enjoy the synergy of poetry and art.
* An asterisk indicates poems accompanied by Brandon Rucker's interpretive music. Some poems move and flow and are best read accompanied by silence, letting the reader absorb the layers and meanings. Other poems dance, sometimes to a slow rhythmic beat, sometimes to an uplifting two-step. There aren't deep meanings behind which poems spoke to us through music and which ones through silence, simply a matter of letting our minds drift. We hope you enjoy all the poems, and we hope you enjoy the music, too.
