Below is some of the backstory for the poems. Your
attention to them is what makes them come alive, but below is a bit of
context. If you like the images in the book be sure to check out our WTPrint CafePress store for some cool gifts and other items. Questions or comments? Please email wtp.pub@gmail.com
See the free Marfa lights show included in every book! The lower left corner of each left page has a small picture of light that was filtering through the curtains in our hotel room. If you flip the pages really fast the light flickers.
Marfatown Haiku del Cielo The literal translation of the poem is: Wide heavens here all of us are from small towns but that isn’t a haiku, so as a translation it sort of misses the whole point.
Adobe Cycle
I shot photos at a block of abandoned adobe houses for about an hour in the evening, looking for an out after a disagreement with my husband. Thus the emo nature of the shots, also is perhaps why one of the resulting poems (Demasiado Azul) touches on domestic frustration. Its a space that evokes the transient nature of some of Marfa’s history - migrant workers and ranch hands, folks down on their luck, and apparently the furtive presence of those who don’t want to be found (see Wandering Egyptian).
leaving Leaves are a full symbol for these abandoned places - the people that lived here changed with the seasons, but their presence was tied to the unchanging rhythm of the seasons. There is some word- play here with “leaves”: the light leaves and every evening leaves sweep the dust.
Wandering Egyptian This poem is the voice of a wandering Egyptian (who knew?) up to no good in Marfa. The poem is not a racist comment about Egyptian people. It is intended on two levels: a tongue in cheek satire that was inspired by the following surreal quote from an article in Time magazine, written during a time when paranoia was selling well. “U.S. authorities also believe that some kingpins may be forging links with potential Middle East terrorists attempting to slip into the U.S. from Mexico. 'It’s not unusual anymore to find a wander- ing Egyptian in Marfa, Texas,' says Jim Chaparro, former head of the U.S. federal anti-smuggling task force and a special agent for the Homeland Security Department’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” “People Smugglers, Inc.” Tuesday August 12, 2003 web link as of March 2009: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfh3c5n7_186tw2jqjgg
On another level, the poem speaks of criminals that lurk in desert towns all over the world to oversee the smuggling of people, guns and drugs. Marfa has had military influence almost from its incep- tion; the current iteration of such being the headquarters for the the Marfa Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol. The Marfa Sector is responsible for the largest geographical area of any sector along the Southwest border, covering over 135,000 square miles and over 118 counties in Texas and Oklahoma. (http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/border_patrol/bor- der_patrol_sectors/marfa_sector_tx/marfa_general.xml)
Demasiado Azul Across the decades I heard the voice of a young Mexican wife, coming to Marfa for the growing season with her new husband, homekeeping in the heat, dust and unrelenting light.
New Year Guru This is a poem about gurus - how many can you spot? I count 5: Steinbeck, Judd, Gandalf, redwood trees whose immensity and age ask us: how many lifetimes do you have? how many lifetimes must you use before you “get it”? and older siblings. The poem is also about: - wishing I had possessed guru wisdom and compassion and been more helpful to my younger brother during a rough time our family had when we were younger, and how I am surprised (stung!?) by how fresh that regret still is. - And not being nor having a guru and feeling that more acutely when the old year meets the new.
Then and Now This poem has lots goin’ on. The layout is part of the poem. You can read it by columns - first column one and then column two or you can read across the columns when there is text in both. The left column represents the past, the right the present. The last verse is both. Secondly, Judd had interesting theories he wrote about. He was not a minimalist, which surprised me but what did I know? Not much. Please see the book’s introduction for more information.
