"Artist's Statement" (Essay)

Jason Cole Magnon

"Artist’s Statement"

I want my readers to be able to have at least two distinct kinds of experiences: surface experiences and deep experiences. "Seedling (To The Artist As A Young Man)" is a decent example of the type of poem which would elicit these possible responses. To elucidate these experiences, let me explain each in a little more detail.

First, I hope that my readers can enjoy even a superficial reading, one which samples from the poem's surface qualities, its sounds and rhythms. A surface reading would also penetrate into some of the metaphors and other devices so that, at least, the reader can feel a moment of aesthetic appreciation. The deeper experience would conjure up more sophisticated connections in the reader through allusions and the kind of "deep image" explored by poet Robert Bly, which appeals more directly to the reader's unconscious mind. By no means have I developed the ability to manipulate words with such precision, but it is my literary ambition to do so. In this collection of poetry, I have experimented greatly. Much of the poetry was, initially, far too abstract to catch my readers. I have made revisions with the focus of grounding my poetry in concrete ideas. I imagine "my readers" to be the urban mystics, the literary geeks, the kinds of people who stay up late drinking wine with friends to watch some celestial event. I want to appeal to readers who are interested in the transcendental potential of poetry, and who do not need an explanation for every detail but may instead be contented with whatever inspirations they glean. Mythology is an essential part of my writing at this point, and my ideal readers  will have some familiarity with it and its significance to modern life.

Although many of my peers’ comments reflected that the poetry could sometimes slip over their heads, I struggle with the idea of revising a poem simply because it is over a person’s head. I feel that to do so would be an insult to the reader, and I have faith in people’s ability to perceive and discover. One of my goals for my poetry is to awaken this same faith within my readers. In this way, I intend for poetry to be fundamentally experiential and conducive to the reader’s growth. If the content is not directly relevant to their own experience, then at least the style guides them to make unconscious connections in what Neuro Linguistic Programming calls a “transderivational search.” Transderivational morphology is “an NLP term which refers to the way in which the form or structure of a particular word directs our pathways of mental association; and thus influences the meaning and impact which that word has on us.” Morphology is a term from linguistics which refers to the “patterns and structures within particular words.”

I have received extensive training in Neuro Linguistic Programming, however I am not a linguist and I make no claim at having successfully accomplished the idealized integration of transderivational morphology into my writing. I know I must strengthen my foundation before I can aspire to such visions, but I intend to. However, I think that poetry, and language in general, has immense potential for the transformation of consciousness in addition to its creative appeal. It is important to reiterate that much of my poetry is intended to appeal to the unconscious, where the reader can make the connections I’ve designed as well as their own. The response I have been hoping to stir is one of awe, not for my words but for the experiences that I want my words to represent and convey to the reader, whose response I believe should be one of awe and wonder. The greatest poems inspire moments of epiphany, an instance when the mind is quiet and the perspective of the reader is enhanced.

[This brief composition is extracted from my final portfolio in Advanced Creative Writing: Poetry, Southwestern University, Spring 2015]