Issue 2.2
Summer 2022
Dana Stamps II
Reflection
Honestly, it is difficult for me to account for this piece in a statement, but I want the typography, that is, each letter/punctuation/space to matter like colorful paint matters, accumulates in pointillism—finally, becoming a music for the eyes, where letters are akin
to notes.
John Cage
] I have nothing to say,
and I am saying it,
the dissonances, time been-
bent into a knot.
by-n-by bye. From tHE body,
prepared, pianISsimo
his NOTes,
forte his silences. DEAD.
Get out of whatever cage
you find
yourself
in.
D … o … y … o … u … l … i … k … e
… my use … of … el … lip … s … is .?
S … o … m … e … one …
had … to …
… do it … A … n … d … John
.Cage is.
a.Way
… l.i..s … t
…e.n ..
and that is poetry. [
Dana Stamps, II. is a bi-polar poet and essayist who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Cal State University of San Bernardino and has worked as a fast-food server, a postal clerk, a security guard, and a group home worker with troubled boys. A Pushcart nominee, poetry chapbooks For Those Who Will Burn and Drape This Chapbook in Blue were published by Partisan Press, and Sandbox Blues by Evening Street Press.
Dana's Book Recommendation
The book that most influenced my poem is Postmodern American Poetry, a Norton Anthology edited by Paul Hoover. This was where I first learned about the poet and musician John Cage. His poem "25 Mesostics Re and Not Re Mark Toby" is included. This anthology is a must read for anybody interested in the roots of experimental poetry.