A collaborative work of poetry and art from Derek Owens and Caroline Golden
Artists’ Statement
“These two sets of poems and collages are excerpted from THE VILLAGERS, a collaborative work of fable-making, by artist Caroline Golden and author Derek Owens. This joint project, when completed, will result in a uniquely designed artists’ book of 37 collages each with an accompanying original piece of short fiction or poetry inspired by the work. Golden’s recent collage series, “The Villagers” is a portfolio of whimsical portraits depicting minor background characters and supporting roles in the fairy tale pantheon–those whose tales never get heard. These visually arresting portrayals constitute an array of overlooked and forgotten personages eager to take their bows, embodying their own (until now) unrealized story.
Entranced by these collages, which are by turns comical, romantic, and eerie, Derek Owens meditated on each image until the character revealed his or her narrative. It turns out Golden’s fantastical characters had much to say. Within this collection, we hear the voices of dressmakers and diplomats, sensitives and valets, and prankster automatons–a chorus of fanciful new archetypes.”
The Chrysalis
Ah monsieur, je suis triste.
It’s true, I killed myself. To emerge anew. Really, what more must one do to win your affections?
Look, I was wrong, I admitted it, owned and accepted it. But I did not give up. Resolved to make things right. And so I sepulchered myself, willingly, without hesitation.
Absorbed myself alchemically. An enzyme explosion to rival a burning star. Fifty cells became 50,000. Is that not enough my love?
Happily embraced the imaginal discs that would obliterate me and rewrite the code.
What other girl might drown herself in a suite of proteins so?
You speak of emboîtement. I tell you it is a lie. I am no matryoshka doll. I no longer embody the girl we both knew. So come back to me, I am born anew.
All that remains is this post-metamorphic recall, and it shatters me. The hurts I caused, the words I used, I can never forget them. Have had them stitched into these newborn wings so that I might never forget.
But I have forgiven myself. And now you must do the same.
I have shimmied out of my old dress. And into this new one brightly sewn for you.
Oh my eidolon, my Adam. Bring back your fuzzy antennae.
Tu me manques tellement.
The Siren
too late, you are sealed
within my song
wiggle all you wish
little bug
trapped inside this amber waveform
you never had a prayer
this ecstasy of compression and refraction
a delirious quicksand
I lifted you to the height of my waves
343 meters per second
the amplitude making your eyes tear
your thoughts tearing in two
only to let you fall, to drown
in troughs deeper
than your own perfect hells
before your mind dissolves
allow me to swallow your final pleas
your please
let me pluck your strings once more
oh you bastard, I bury you
burn you in the overtones
I am a catastrophe of scarlet cravings
go now, die for me
grazioso
Caroline Golden is known for her dimensional, multi-layered hand-cut paper collages and assemblages. Her work, influenced by original fairy tales and fables, has been shown in galleries since 1998, including a one-woman exhibition in Israel featuring over sixty works inspired by Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland. Her collages are in collections around the world, and she has lectured on the importance of fairy tales in conjunction with her art. She lives and works in New York City; her work can be found at carolinegolden.com.
Derek Owens is a writer, artist, and professor at St. John’s University, New York. He has published fiction, poetry, and lyric essays in various literary journals, as well as a book of experimental nonfiction. He recently received an MFA in creative practice from Plymouth University (UK) where he focused on artist’s books and the intersection of text and visual art. He lives on Long Island, NY; his work can be found at derekowens.net.