The Maker of Wanting Space
Adam Wolfond is a maker of wanting space. I think all poets are. The space of the poem, constellated around each stanza (which in Italian means room), opens itself to the poet’s creative desires. Adam makes various spaces more alive with his want: learning environments, art galleries, documentary films, podcasts, and publications. His first chapbook features not only my favorite title of all time, but also the poem I want to highlight this week.
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I am less Adam’s teacher and more his amanuensis, hurriedly finding poetic shape for the gushing lyric that fluidly pours forth from his single typing finger. As he wrote in his first poem with me: “Like water I am eager / Like water I am thinking / Like water I always move.” These lines are characteristic of Adam’s writing, which often emerges in patterns of three. Since water is a constituent part of Adam’s being in the world, I call it his three-wave pattern, like the grouped set of waves for which a surfer eagerly watches. I suppose I am the surfer attempting to ride each wave, looking for the moment where one wave becomes another, breaking the line like a board carving back into the tunnel of expression refreshed. See if you can stay upright!
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What if were all “dancing for the answering” as we moved through the world, transforming and remaking each space with the lyrical force of our desire? Those are the sorts of questions Adam helps me live toward. You can read more of Adam’s work here and order both of his fantastic chapbooks here.
Eating Words,
Chris
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