Laura Kerr : Incrementally, by Penn Kemp

Incrementally, Penn Kemp
Hem Press, 2023

 

 

 

 

I recently dedicated my time to immersing myself in the captivating work of Canadian Poet, Penn Kemp. I must say, I was utterly enthralled by her artistry! Her latest book, Incrementally, is nothing short of a masterpiece of sonic adventure. The way the lines flow and resonate is truly awe-inspiring, a true feast for the senses.

I found myself reading out loud just to experience the melodic nature of each poem. The repetition became musical notes resonating and dancing on the page. Penn’s poetry seems almost orchestrated as if the page is a backdrop in a dynamic symphony of words. Playing with language takes on an entirely new meaning when a reader can hear the words sing.

The poem, ‘A Chording’, is an example of the delightful sound arrangements in Incrementally. I read it several times out loud until it became a series of soundscapes. It is cleverly playful and sing-songy! I couldn’t help wanting to stretch my own vocals and explore their range. That’s part of the enjoyment of reading Penn Kemp’s poetry.

Of course this book led me on an adventure to discover more of her poetry on other platforms such as YouTube, where I could listen to Penn’s spoken word poetry and hear her lyrical voice recite. Okay, so my own range of vocals may need a lot of work by comparison, but I never would have imagined the range of sounds a poem could foster before reading Incrementally. This is poetic engagement at its finest.

Visually, each poem in Incrementally is structured in such a way as to create patterns with words, letters and typographic elements. Even the white spaces around the words engage our senses. Penn arranges the words so as to enhance her many abstract concepts. I found my eyes following the patterns that were crafted to form various shapes on the page. Each poem creates a unique visual representation to elevate the game of language and makes the entire experience that much more immersive.

The poems in Incrementally are a unique expression of sound, visual pattern and abstract concepts that I am certain to return to and glean more from each reading. Without a doubt, Penn Kemp stands as one of the most significant and prolific poet/art contemporaries of our time. This latest book is a (sing)ular artistic vision that is pure joy to experience.

 

 

 

 

Laura Kerr is an award-winning Canadian visual artist and poet. In 2012, she was honoured with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her art & continued contributions to art education. She is co-owner of Paradise art, an art school in Winnipeg, Manitoba specializing in classical and contemporary art education where she has taught both youth and adults for over 25 years.

Throughout her career, Laura has had a deep interest in merging digital technology with traditional mediums. As technologies have advanced so has the degree to which those mediums have merged in her work. This has resulted in her journey into visual poetry which seeks to develop a new language of expression that advances our understanding of our relationships with technology in a way that does not subsume the brilliance of our analog expression.

These generative images are a mix media of painting, drawing and digital photography. Laura deploys a variety of digital techniques and technologies in experimental ways allowing her to leverage their particular strengths but through their combination ensures the artists hand is directing the work and not the software itself. These digital mediums and the process she employs allows for unexpected new outcomes through “mad art/technology experiments”.