2 new poems just dropped! Both are critiques on the art world

I love being a working artist, but the art world doesn’t always get it right. My latest two poems—one an ekphrastic and the other a meditation on muses who don’t get their due—are out now in Commune Journal, an art magazine put together by Urban Arts Space.

UAS is a gallery in downtown Columbus that is doing things right. They invite all mediums into the gallery, not just 2D and 3D visual art, though, of course, there’s that, too. Right now, there’s an exhibit on Ohio dance, which I appreciate because I so seldom get to see dance in a gallery setting! The UAS folks also made sure to include video art in Commune Journal through QR codes. It’s such an easy, accessible way to get many kinds of artists involved in ways they might not often be invited to participate. I’m proud to have my two poems, “ode to dora maar” and “self-portrait as a lamp between two countries,” included in the magazine.

In case you’re wondering if both of these poems will be in We Had Mansions (which you should pre-order if you haven’t already), the answer is yes and no. “Self-portrait as a lamp between two countries” is in there because it clearly fits the theme, but “ode to dora maar” is not. I’m proud of my Dora Maar poem—especially because she was a talented artist and photographer in her own right and deserves so much more than merely being cast as Picasso’s muse for dozens of paintings, all of which she hated—but thematically, it’s an oddball. I might include it in a future collection one day, though. :)

Either way, check them out!