hello, world

The above image is from the project that first drew my interest into the connection between comics and poetry.

I was required to do a creative response to a Serbian poet of my choice. I chose Vasko Popa. I primarily write poetry, but it felt odd trying to write a poem in response to one of Popa's poems (which, if you are not familiar with Popa, they are rather meticulously composed). So instead I responded with something I have even less of a place to be doing: a graphic adaptation of Popa's central poem cycle, "The Blackbird's Field."

In short, I loved it. The poems translated effortlessly to the page. I wanted to do more, and I wanted to see what other poets/illustrators have done to connect poetry with illustration. So, after the necessary paperwork and coordination, I now have the privelege of doing this project with Arielle. I anticipate that I will learn quite a bit as we read and discuss a variety of comics and articles. Along the way, I will do some graphic poems of my own, as well as some critical/analytical responses.

If you're reading along, I hope that you enjoy the blog!

some questions

Here are my current takes on a few questions I will be considering over the course of this project.

What can poets learn from comic book structure?

There are many different structures of comics, just as there are of poems. A comic may separate illustration from text like a storybook. Sometimes the text acts as a caption for an image. Other times, a comic may have a series of panels all linked together in some way. It seems often cinematic. Sometimes the text links each panel, but sometimes there is no text at all.

Perhaps a poet can learn from the way text and image interact in comics. The balance between text and image varies, but they work toward some common goal.

Words often play the role of dialogue in a comic. Because of this, poets can learn ways of using voice in an effective way by examining comics.

A structure can also be created by a comic. If it is a caption, then it begs a concise perfection. If the comic has panels, the text becomes broken up by pauses, as lines or stanzas of a poem--or as phrases and breath marks in music. The text must still be concise enough not to overtake the panel, and sometimes it interacts with the aesthetic of the illustration as well. Either way, I think the key may be in that interaction between image and text.

What can comics artists learn from poets?

Words should do more than explain, they can at times embellish an image, or work on an equal level with the image. All the better if words can stand on their own. By looking at poetic elements, a comic artist can learn many ways of using poetic methods to convey things in a new and interesting manner. The artist can do this with words, but also by using images poetically. For example, a comic artist could use visual metaphors or associative images to convey meaning.

A comic artist might also use poetic forms. Although I have not seen this happen often, a comic artist can emulate the effect of a form by repeating images, shapes, words, or panels. This could result in a comic that has qualities of a pantoum or sestina, for example. This sounds like a fun experiment to me--and it definitely has the potential to hone one's storytelling skills.

What do the poems you love and comics you love have in common?

Beauty, quirks, connections and solid concepts. I love for a poem to look or sound pleasing, just as I love for an image to look pleasing. I love oddities because they are new and strange. I love relating the art to my own experiences (because I am a tad bit narcissistic, perhaps, but maybe because this shows that art can be truth for more than just the artist). I especially love it when a poem or comic takes me by surprise with its cleverness, its tricks, or its magnetic depth.

What can a poem do that a comic can't, and vice versa?

A poem can easily leave the visual aspect to the imagination of the reader. Poems have more variability in that sense. They are very open to connect to the reader. It also seems that it is more acceptable for poems to be paratactic. A poem can jump from one thing to another. It can seem at first to make no sense at all. A poem may also make use of language games by taking easily recognized phrases and altering them in order to make dissonance. An image may also rearrange a paradigm, but the effect feels less recognizable.

Also, words can be read aloud, and in many different ways.

A comic can leave out words in lieu of direct images. It can be very specific about the images, and it can do so without overexplaining them. Although words can be both specific and concise, they often must rely upon the previous experiences of the reader in order to do so.