Synkroniciti is excited to welcome back Brooke Summers-Perry, a multi-faceted artist and poet from Houston, Texas, with three gorgeous blackout poems. A blackout poem, sometimes called an erasure poem, is made by selecting words from a pre-existing text and obscuring other words. Often this is done in homage to the original text and picks up on themes from that work. These three pieces are each based on a page from Robin Wall-Kimmerer’s evocative book Braiding Sweetgrass. Brooke’s blackout poetry is enriched by her experience as a visual artist. She begins work on the actual page, adding gesso and wet media like acrylic or gouache. Then she photographs the painted pages and imports them into digital media. Sometimes she layers in other original paintings. The result is a transformative work that retains only a tiny bit of the printed page. Brooke’s artwork is abstract and evocative of natural elements.
Turn to Healing reminds us of running water, perhaps a waterfall, as shades of blue-green meet an otherwise black, white and grey color palette. The flow and motion of the “water” crosses on an angle. The selected words, haloed in white dance across the page from left to right, slowing the eye and creating a delightful resistance. Healing is a purposeful dance against the backdrop of time, which marches on.
Aligned with Life was one of four finalists for our “Recovery” cover. This is a luminous work that recalls sunlight on water and vaguely architectural elements. The poem hints at connection and how we come together with nature and one another to nurture growth.
Bound Together continues the meditation on our interconnectedness, this time focusing on society’s scapegoats, who “are not the problem.” If we “switch on our light” it will help us see that we are linked. Rays of light cross and connect over a monochromatic field of light and shadow.
Experience Brooke’s insightful combination of poetry and artwork in Synkroniciti’s “Recovery” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Brooke Summers-Perry is a painter, poet, teacher and coach. She grew up in the woods and returns to her wild, wide-eyed, peace-loving roots by facilitating community learning circles, creating blackout poetry, and teaching Nonviolent Communication™ as a spiritual practice.