Reader Responses:
ARTIST LIVING
by
Skylyr Choe & Sophie Nicholson
I also really enjoyed 'Artist Living' by Sophie and Skylyr. I loved the tension that is present in this sequence. It makes you wonder what's going to come next. I also like all the different art references. I mentioned in class that I liked the fact that these come from the artist perspective but not necessarily the positive side of art. It shows you the hardships and how difficult it is to be an artist and come up with original ideas. I think that it's an important viewpoint that is being expressed. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024
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AT WATER'S EDGE
by
McKenna Beals & Skylyr Choe
I loved Sky and Mckenna’s tanka sequence, "At Water's Edge." There was an integration of both the themes of water, and love, and I appreciated how they changed throughout the sequence. It was enjoyable to experience water in different forms and settings as well like an aquarium, pond, ocean, pool, and lake. I could interpet and sense different kinds of relationships in the tanka as well — romantic, platonic, parent/child, stranger, and nature. Leah Flint, Spring 2024
At Water’s Edge: I really really loved this tanka sequence. It’s so interesting and vivid, and the tanka flow together really nicely. I love the way it starts out sweet and tender, and slowly escalates into something with more tension. The work has this foreboding energy to it that intrigues me. My favorite link is the “siren’s song” and the “deep blue depths” tanka. I absolutely love how they flow together, with the speaker in the first tanka being beckoned by the water and the siren’s song, and the speaker in the second being enveloped by water. It tells the story of feeling pulled in by the water and giving into that desire so effectively. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024
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WATERMARKS
by
Josh Lowe & Randy Brooks
This sequence was so beautifully sad. I said this in class when we looked over this sequence last week, but I truly think that each of these five tanka can be connected to a different stage of grief, regardless of the order they come in. In a way, I like that the stages are out of order based on the order the tanka are written in, because that in itself is like its own commentary on the non-linear path that we follow when undergoing the grief sequence, because grieving is never linear, and can come back to hurt us or knock the breath from our lungs when we least expect it. In order, I think (according to the sequence), the five stages of grief are experienced as denial, acceptance, bargaining, depression, and anger. It was a beautiful sequence, full of very raw emotions and I really appreciated that within the pieces. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024
I also really enjoyed Dr. Brooks’ and Josh’s tanka sequence. The title “watermarks” makes me think of tear drops leaving marks on paper. There’s a very somber tone to this sequence, and it almost feels as if the poet(s) is falling into the depths of their sadness, and it gets progressively darker as the sequence goes on. Leah Flint, Spring 2024
Watermarks: I’m not totally sure how to interpret this one, but I like how it explores grief and emotional turmoil. The slow progression from evening television/news to falling asleep and having anxious dreams is also really interesting to me. I appreciate the vivid imagery, especially in the dream tanka. Similarly to “At Water’s Edge,” I like how the tanka about standing in flood water flows into the tanka about suffocation. While the final tanka in the sequence never mentions water, I have the mental picture of someone drowning in water that was only previously ankle high. The two final tanka play off of each other very nicely. Sophie Nicholson, Spring 2024
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MOM & ME
by
Leah Flint, Eden Niebrugge & Sophie Nicholson
I can appreciate the sentiments that come from this sequence of tanka. It is very reminiscent of the time passed from youth and the sweetness that comes from being taken care of, and then takes on the bittersweet passing of time that just finds you as you grow up. I am especially fond of the nature-y part of the sequence, with mentions of the park and flowers, and I was particularly drawn to the tanka about tulips. The descriptors in that are just vague enough to leave some things up to interpretation, but allows you to generalize the main point of time passing and the relationship with your mom steadily changing, and I found it was very sweet. Skylyr Choe, Spring 2024
I really enjoyed 'Mom and Me' by Leah, Eden, and Sophie. I thought it was very well put together. I loved how each tanka played off of the one prior to it, but then also added a new element each time. It also seems like you were taking us through a relationship between a mother and daughter. You have the reference to what it used to be like with your mom when you're younger and how that relationship has change with adulthood. Then you add in more 'characters' like the dad, aunt, and the sisters. I also really love the last tanka in the sequence. It sums up how the outsider’s kind of look at the relationship and the likeness between the two, which then could eventually turn into a new mother daughter relationship. McKenna Beals, Spring 2024
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