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Meet Our Poetry Editors
Text by Crista Siglin and Natalie Mariko with an Introduction by Ashley Moore
Editorial Note: Crista Siglin is still with SAND as one of our co-poetry editors, and former poetry editor Natalie Mariko left SAND in 2019. We are very excited to have Emma Lawson on as our second poetry editor along with Crista. This article provides insight into SAND’s poetry style, and any future submissions should be sent to Crista and Emma.
AN INTRODUCTION TO AN INTRODUCTION
What do traditional artist’s introductions tell us? Biographical information, starting with current location. A list of publications, and if we’re lucky, an artist’s statement. The partners, dogs, parakeets, and children the artists might be living with in previously-mentioned current location.
When we asked our new poetry editors Natalie Mariko and Crista Siglin to introduce themselves, they agreed that this approach might “flatten” them rather than giving readers a “glimpse into their editing sensibilities,” according to Crista. So the two began with the traditional introductions and set out to “extend poetic abstraction/attention to the very boring, self-referential, wanky realm of artist introductions” by “deconstructing each other’s intros into poems.”
The idea was formed in a Berlin cafe, and the process was honed in a series of emails, during which our editors discussed deconstruction as introduction as well as deadlines and sick cats. As for the process, each editor would send over their traditional introductory “blurbs” and then each would “dissect” the other’s blurb into a poem. The discussion of process continued from there, along with more discussion of cats, and produced three poems that “introduce” each editor.
Natalie says the emails are actually the “better half of the two conceptual parts” since they are “the ghost in the machine made visible,” namely: “The process is all in there, not in me explaining why I moved a word to the next line” of the final poems, which are included at the end. Of the “essential” nature of the inclusion of the emails in this article, our poetry editors say:
“The drudgery of the sick cats, the banter–this is sort of @ the thematic heart of what I love to read. There is a cat vomiting on my carpet. The cat can’t help it. It just vomits, w/out want. An act of pure function. Poetry blames the cat. Or draws a connection btwn the cat retch & why the weather has been unseasonably warm. Or &c. The act of poetry is the attribution of intent to function, especially as it originates in the reader (in my example, Me watching the cat vomit). It blurs the definition btwn cat & weather. A type of willful schizophrenia.” — Natalie
“Poetry blames the cat. This for me has a morphic resonance with ‘Love’s the burning boy.’ An idea inflicting something on a character or object, and through that relationship, the nature of the idea can change alongside the character. ‘Casabianca’ by Elizabeth Bishop (in which the burning boy may be found) is one of my favorite examples of a poem subtly shifting expectation for how one word will defined throughout its course. Love’s meaning constricts and dilates, depending on the perspective and metaphorical highlighting. I always keep this in a corner of my mind. When I am writing or editing, I am looking for some way to expand or sharpen the meaning of a word. Whether it is through spacial means (this is how I approached editing Natalie’s introduction; through erasures and implementing space), repetition, or perspectival shifts.” — Crista
THE EMAILS
Natalie to Crista:
It’s fascinating to read about a colleague in this way–as if the person I will be seeing @ monthly meetings could be artistically reduced to a sort of list of acco.s & fixed opinions. I don’t know about you, but writing artist statements always made me feel rather pompous. Like sending a court clerk before me to announce my arrival. But perhaps even then there’s an artistry to something so seemingly banal as introduction, no? My thought is we limit this to no more than 3 volleys/editor, so as to avoid repetition.
Crista to Natalie:
Yes, I agree about both the banality and pomp of writing about oneself in this way. I had to cut a lot of words I was hiding under from mine…as well as graft different statements from different times together…yet I still feel hidden (but I couldn’t bear to start completely from scratch). It feels like writing about myself in this way misses most of the things for which I am actually proud of myself. But I can scarcely include “Crista can complete Jacob’s Ladder in ten seconds with her eyes closed.” It also misses one’s weaknesses. Like how many times I have to Google search the differences between certain words. Regardless, I am enjoying this exercise. Yours was quite fun to work with.
I hope your cat is okay.
Natalie to Crista:
Well, in terms of meeting that deadline, I’d classify this as ‘better late than never’. Now that we’ve given one another a raw rearrangement of the texts, perhaps it’d be fun to edit what the other’s made of them? And then perhaps thereafter combining them? Or? If you have something in mind, let me know. This is the most enjoyable writing task I’ve had in a solid few weeks.
The cats – Keala & Humus, the poor souls – are my roommate’s & the last I smelled they are quite ill. I have to help her give them two pills each every few hours which is painful for all of us.
Crista to Natalie:
I firmly believe in the better late than never philosophy.
CRISTA SIGLIN
By Natalie Mariko and Crista Siglin
| ONE
Crista Siglin finds herself living in Berlin after having grown up (as much She creativestudied She chasing ghosts playing with other people’s, food and watching her way slowly but surely She has shown her visual various Kansas City galleries in . Crista’s poetry has Sprung Formal Compendium Not Sorry Retro grade-Craft(ed) Desolate Country Poets, Un- Against Finding Zen in Cow Town and Prosper o She is the author of the poetry Fleeting Sacred Sparta n Press(ing). Her practice a body and the mind’s relation ship to environmentraumatime phantasm agoria. attracted: to delve into elements and themes common in theater and Other dramatic platforms: to heighten psychological conditions (i.e. how specific can depict a spectrum She also enjoys
subverted folk loric. Crista admires the paradoxical aspects of having a body, and its withstanding She finds the bodymind’s progression through time, and questions definition and appearance in the present moment. |
TWO
Crista finds herself living in Berlin after having grown (as much creativestudied chasing ghosts playing other people’s, food and watching slowly but surely has shown visual various Kansas galleries in . poetry has Sprung Compendium (of) Not Sorry Retro grade-Craft(ed) Desolate country Poets, Un- Against Finding Zen in Cow Town and Prosper o She is the author of poetry Fleeting Sacred Sparta n Press(ing). Her practice a body mind’s relation ship to environmentrauma time phantasm agoria. attracted: to delve elements themes common theater and Other dramatic platforms: to heighten psychological conditions . how specific a spectrum also enjoys subverted folk loric. admires paradoxical aspects of having a body withstanding finds the bodymind’s progression through time, questions definition a appearance in the present moment. |
THREE
a finds herself chasin gghosts playing other people and watching slowly but surely visual various Kansas in poetry has SPRUNG compendium of Not Sorry retro desolate country poet Un-Zen in Cow Town and pro(s)per (o now) she is the author of
a body shipped to environmentraumatime phantasm agoria. attracted: to delve dramatic platforms: to heighten psychological conditions (how specific a spectrum) subverted folkloric paradoxical aspects of having a body withstanding finds the bodymind progression through time, questions definition a |
Natalie Mariko
By Crista Siglin and Natalie Mariko
| ONE
Natalie Mariko was born 3rd of 9 children. After Mathematics & Philosophy African & English Literature Film Cape Town, she forfeited her (excessively expensive) place at Cambridge to move
Germany. She studied German in Munich & Dresden moved Berlin in March She is fascinated 90s dark comedy films, Bantu mythologies, witchcraft & magic(k), post- Soviet visual art, people who’ve actually read Infinite Jest and the documentation of queer experience. She participates regularly Berlin writers’ presents her written at readings w/ increasing regularity. Her poetry appeared in Whirlwind all roads will lead you home Contrast, YES SUSAN, The Slanted House will be included an upcoming TABLOID is drawn illuminates and tarries in the uncanny Language on the brinks — both deliberate semantic intention & types — most appealing; or investigates problematises lost silences & the echoing chasms btwn intention & interpretation. her interests variegated to the point of whimsy, but the basic thru-line tends to be unexpected. |
TWO
Natalie was born 3rd after mathematics
she forfeited her (excessively to move studied moved
berlinfascinated darkcomedy film: Witchcraft & Magic K (post- Soviet visual art people who actually read Infinite Jest and the documentation of queer experience) she participates regularly
presents her written reading regular -ity he r in Whirlwind YES SUSAN, The Slanted House will be included an upcoming TABLOID is drawn illuminates and tarries in the uncanny Language
deliberate semantic intention & types most appealing lost silences & the echoing btwn
thru-line tends to be unexpected, |
THREE
born 3rd after mathematics
she forfeited (excessively to move studied moved
berlinfascinated darkcomedy
film: Witchcraft & Magic (post- Soviet visual art people who read Infinite and
documentation queer experience) she participates regularly presents
written reading regular -ity he r in Whirlwind YES SUSAN, The Slanted House will be included an upcoming TABLOIDilluminates tarries in uncanny Language deliberate semantic intention & appealing lost silences & the echoing btwn thru-line tends to unexpect |