It’s amazing what you can do, what you can accomplish, if you just keep doing it. It’s a principle to hold up there along with many of the classic ones.
4 months ago, I started a YouTube channel and began a journey of presenting my over 4 decades of poetry in “visual” form. There are now 83 videos on the channel.
I have been learning as I go. I decided like all good decisions, to start from what I know and then build into the unknown. Perhaps that couldn’t be prevented or done otherwise. We don’t walk towards the light (in life) - we actually take our light out and shine it into the world of darkness.
I started the channel as part of my declaration, post 60th birthday coming out - to live as a poet, a free thinker and to follow the beat of my own drummer (thank you Mom). I’ve always been these things but didn’t live them publicly.
Next thought about the channel was how to bring poems to life “in video”. I was always involved in video, video editing. It’s a medium that is still in its ascendency and with the potential to reach a wider audience. I remembered watching about a decade ago, some beautifully created visual poems by Billy Collins. I thought to myself, I can do something like that!
So, like proud Georgie Porgie, I put in my thumb and tried to pull up some sweet plums.
I knew a lot about gifs - I don’t think anyone knows much more. I was obsessed with them as a visual form. So I started there. Using gifs as the visual tableau.
First one poem, then the next, then the next. Now, so many of them.
In the coming weeks, I hope to share more about the “act of creation” and how to make these kinds of visual poems. Maybe hold a webinar if others are interested. Go through all the steps.
For now, enjoy the YouTube channel. Made this post to put this on the front page of Naked & Alive so others will find the channel.
Here is my latest. Made while drinking my wheat beer and suffering the heat …