The In Between, A Ferry Ride

A year ago, almost to the day, Silas and I took the ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. It was grey, chilly, the in between fall and winter in the Pacific Northwest. The decks were empty, windswept, with salt spray in the air.

Here in New Mexico, we’re back in lockdown. Covid is skyrocketing here, well everywhere really.

Here in the desert the sun is keeping us warm, unseasonably warm. Everything is dry, parched. No water in sight. Even Abiquiu Lake, an hour from here, is low.

The mountains have been a balm all summer and fall, but not a day goes by that I don’t wish I could jump right in, no matter how cold, and wake up with the brisk ocean waves.

So until we’re out of the woods and it’s safe to travel again, I’ll be dreaming about the oceans and crossing my fingers that next summer holds a beach day and a boat ride for me.

all photographs by me, Becca Grady, November 2019.

A Reading with Coco Picard and Devin King, in tandem with "Underneath"

Earlier this Summer, I invited two of my very talented friends Caroline (Coco) Picard and Devin King to do a reading at Niomi Fawn’s Show Pony Gallery while my painting show “Underneath” was on view. They just moved to Santa Fe from Chicago this Summer, and it was the perfect opportunity to get to hear more of their recent work. We’ve been friends for over a decade. I first met Coco outside a gallery opening in Chicago. We chatted about arctic explorers, hit it off, and later worked together on her publication of The North Georgia Gazette.

Coco Picard reading from a recent comic.

Devin King reading his new poem “Carousel”

Coco Picard wrote a letter to the paintings in the exhibition, calling up our shared history and letters that I used to write to the ocean. She read this in the gallery, and then read a selection from a graphic novel called “Meowsers” that she is currently working on, excerpts are shared below.

Excerpt from “Meowsers” - image courtesy of Coco Picard.

Excerpt from “Meowsers” - image courtesy of Coco Picard.

Excerpt from “Meowsers” - image courtesy of Coco Picard.

Devin King read from his poetry book “The Resonant Space” and a new poem created for the reading, “Carousel”, which is excerpted below.

Carousel by Devin King

     For Rebecca Mir Grady

I love the summer plays.

     The ceremonial burial in the ground,

     the ceremonial burning,

     the ceremonial

     plunging     into water

     of the representative

     of the fertilization

                       spirit

                                 that

           now yellow

                        will not

turn green          until

next     spring.

In Bavaria,

                  the Whitsuntide Pfingstl dressed in leaves,

                                                                                                water plants,

                                                                                                                         and a peony cap

is soused. 

In mimicry,

his head

is chopped     off.

He is the Jack-in-Green,

the worshipper

clad in the god

under whose protection

he desires to put himself.

At Palermo,

                      there is a still

more realistic     representation.

     A real

          old woman

               to whose neck

                    a bladder

                          of blood

                                          is tied.

Our fertility

means nothing

to the ocean.

—Excerpt courtesy of Devin King

The Grand Complication by Devin King and the Chronicles of Fortune by Coco Picard

Devin King’s newest book “The Grand Complication” is now available from Kenning Editions. The book launches in Chicago with a reading on September 7th, at 4pm, at the Dial Bookshop with Daniel Borzutzky and Olivia Lott. He’ll also be at Wolfman Books in Oakland on October 25th with Patrick Durgin, and at Poetic Research Bureau in LA, also with Patrick Durgin. I’m excited that I just got my hands on a copy. It’s a beautifully designed book and I’m loving it so far, with all its dizzying musicality.

If you’re in Santa Fe, stop in and see the show “Underneath” while it’s still up, through August 30th, at Show Pony Gallery, 501 Franklin Ave. I’ll be hosting gallery hours this weekend, August 17th from 2-6pm and August 18th from 1-4pm - come say hello! There will also be a performance of the Sacrament of Tears with Niomi Fawn and the time beings (Ni, Eka, Aine), on Saturday August 24th at 6pm. You can hear more about my work in the show and practice in the newest episode of “A Creative Excuse”, the podcast by Frank Rose of Hecho A Mano. It’s my first time ever being on a podcast, and to be honest, I’m too nervous to listen to it. So have a listen and let me know how it goes!

A bit more about Caroline and Devin:

Caroline (Coco) Picard is a writer, publisher, and curator. Her writing has appeared in Artslant, ArtForum (critics picks), Flash Art International, and Paper Monument, among others. She is the Executive Director of the Green Lantern Press—a nonprofit publishing house and art producer in operation since 2005. Fiction and comics appear under the name Coco Picard. Her first graphic novel, The Chronicles of Fortune, was published by Radiator Comics in 2017. www.cocopicard.com

Devin King is the poetry editor for The Green Lantern Press. A narrative poem, The Grand Complication, is out now from Kenning Editions. Previous books and chaps: CLOPS, These Necrotic Ethos Come the Plains, and The Resonant Space. Criticism on poetry and sound studies can be found at The Chicago Review, Make Magazine, Plume Poetry, Dusted, and Critical Inquiry.