"The Story ('Hope' is the thing with feathers)" (2021)
Emily Dickinson is a poet from the 1800s and her work became well known after she died. She is now regarded as a very important figure in poetry. Her piece “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers” creates imagery in the reader’s mind and can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on the reader.
This collection takes the words of Emily Dickinson and showcases them through photographs. The things that were in the reader’s mind, in this case, my mind, while reading this poem. Through items such as candles, seashells, feathers, fruit, vases, dried flowers, and more, these photographs possess the essence of this poem.
One example of these connections are the feathers, featured in the last photograph in the collection, to bring the lines “’Hope’ is the thing with the feathers” and “abash the little Bird” that Dickinson wrote, to life. Another example is the use of seashells, which are featured in all the photographs, showcasing the words “on the strangest Sea.” Finally, though there are many more similarities than just these three, the fruit in the basket in the last photograph is a nod to the line, “Yet – never – in Extremity, It asked a crumb – of me.” This “crumb” being interpreted as food, that food being fruit created by the Earth.
Overall, this poem emits a sense of hope, as can be inferred by simply reading the title. As the interpreter and artist of this collection, I chose to show that “hope” through the “light at the end of the tunnel” mindset, with the brightest, most hopeful and fruitful image at the end of the collection.
Digital Print, 2021
Digital Print, 2021
Digital Print, 2021
