Would you consider a poem an alternative medium? Hopefully so, this is a tribute to a poem.
The poem is sewn into a book made of muslin, loosely sewn together. It is soft, fragile, limp, forms to the shape of your hand. The words are found words, taken from the clothing tags found on clothing–not the price tags, but the tags that are generally sewn into the clothing giving washing instructions, care instructions, and other tidbits relevant to the clothing article. Each cloth page has one or two tags that have been removed from it’s clothing and sewn into the page. The poem is made by reduction: words, sentences, or phrases are created by blacking out unwanted words, pre-fixes, or suffixes with a black marking pen. The resulting phrases have a powerful intimately human overtone, and feel as if recently removed from a persons’ clothing, still warm.
I would have photographed and posted a few of the pages, but felt somehow that would destroy the power of the work. My newfound undergraduate friend expressed his excitement in creating a poetry that is personal because it is so proximal to its environment. It is meant to be a physical experience that brings it back to the body and human connectedness. So, I apologize to merely write about it. Cameron Blais is the name of my poet friend. If you wish to read it, he will happily allow you to (he’s in Brooklyn).
If you really wish to see the poem, I could put you in contact with him. He’s very friendly, and excited to share his work. Or I could possibly arrange a mail/post delivery in which it is delivered to your home. And maybe after all he’d want it photographed, though I doubt it.
compendium of alternative media 