Note: “Sooth” is a suite of 6 love poems that use the same interface, each of which has its own tone and strategies. In order to best represent them, I will write a posting on poems in this suite each day, starting on February 12 and concluding on Valentine’s Day 2012. “Sooth” The title poem in this suite uses an absolutely gorgeous video of ferns rustling in the wind combined with sounds of water, pipe-like music, and birds. With every click, a line of poetry appears and floats towards the point you clicked on, the sound changes, the video may or may not pan to a different (less soothing) aspect of the landscape, while the color tone of the image shifts. Five lines of the poem continue to whimsically float around and change sizes, recombining to form new phrases as they fade in and out of legibility. Having described the workings of this poem, I want to touch lightly upon its language, allowing the readers to revel in its discovery. These are lines worth reading out loud, to articulate, savor their alliteration and consonance, and slowly discover their sensuous, lovely accretions.

Featured in Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 2.