{"id":4774,"date":"2026-04-23T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itp.nyu.edu\/adjacent\/?p=4774"},"modified":"2026-04-24T06:12:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T06:12:52","slug":"objects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itp.nyu.edu\/adjacent\/issue-13\/objects\/","title":{"rendered":"Objects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I would call myself a collector. I have a hard time letting go of trinkets, memories, and people. My bedroom walls are covered in photos, collages, notes, and drawings; every surface has a dish for jewelry or lighters or rocks, and in the corner of my room, I have a classical-style bust of a woman\u2019s torso. The first thing I do when I move into a new place is decorate my room with the physical manifestation of my memories. But sometimes memories sour and their ornaments simply become reminders. I wrote this poem in a moment when I felt very similar to those objects left behind, and left on display. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I write poetry to process emotions and often start a poem by writing a bunch of phrases to describe a current feeling or memory I\u2019m sitting with. From there, of course, I rewrite, cut, and write more\u2026 but a lot of my time editing is spent arranging, much like I arrange the ornaments in my room. I saved 11 versions of Objects<\/em> throughout my time working on it. Even when I had the final poem, the one I was truly happy with, I still thought about the previous 10. Together they show a process, but apart they are just a memory or an underdeveloped feeling. I wanted them to be included in the composition for Objects,<\/em> but also to be situated as unlike the 11th poem. So, I created 10 collages to introduce it, using the 10 poems and photographs from my camera roll. I chose pictures that were related to the imagery or specific phrases in the poem, like pictures of myself, my bedroom wall, physical collages, and relevant art \/ artifacts I had captured while traveling, such as Bernini\u2019s statue, The Abduction of Proserpina. <\/em>I wanted to layer my memories while also placing myself as a character in conversation with the objects I felt so similar to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those 10 previous versions are mainly decorative, consisting of photos that are probably on my wall and words that are difficult to read, but they carry a feeling still, something necessary. At least, that\u2019s how I see it\u2026 though I do have trouble letting things go. 
The first 10 versions of Objects<\/em> are ornamental, so that the 11th can arrive with purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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