Welcome to the second volume of Arts & Poetry, a Web3 exclusive journal showcasing works of written and visual arts from around the world.
I thought I'd open with a few thoughts about my experience at NFT.NYC 2023 – where one of the highlights of my week was meeting some of our contributors in person for a pop-up gallery and open-mic night! At that event, we read many of the poems featured in Arts & Poetry Volume One and heard many original pieces as well.
Poetry (and writing in general) was a hot topic at this year’s event in NYC – there were several panels on these subjects, and one of the pieces featured in Times Square was “Time or Qualm” by Ashwini Dodani. It was collected last year on Objkt for 51 ꜩ by CryptoPopPunk - and ended up being seen by tens of thousands of people!
There were several panels that discussed literary NFTs in general including this one with noted Web3 poet Ana María Caballero – and I am excited to see that appreciation for this artistic niche is growing. The long-standing brick-and-mortar / Web2 poetry journal Rattle devoted its Summer 2023 issue to NFT poets - and the contributors included several poets and artists who have been featured here – Katie Dozier and George Pestana (OddWritings) whose work appeared in the first volume of Arts & Poetry, and Mark Fitzpatrick whose “Ghost-Roads” appears in this volume.
Since then, it has been a very interesting period for arts and poetry in Web3 – and I think we are just on the cusp of seeing what the blockchain can do to empower creatives. Immediately after NFT.NYC, I was in Los Angeles for the 2023 Tyler Prize for Environmental Science – and was honored to be able to curate a display of NFT art in IRL that was showcased during the awards events in the Tyler Pavilion at the University of Southern California, and which will remain on display for the rest of 2023.
This volume has been a long time coming – largely due to the challenges of incorporating sound and motion along with the more traditional words and imagery. I appreciate your patience, and I hope you’ll enjoy this diverse set of voices and visions from around the world – Brazil, Australia, the Netherlands, Kenya and more. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to create something new yourself – or to host your own open-mic or pop-up gallery!
Best always,
Edward
***
ABOUT THE COVER
The cover art of this volume was created using H.C. Holter’s “Venice” – an edition from her collection “on sundays i paint.” The original is acrylic on canvas, and standalone copies of the digital version can be found here.
H. C. Holter is a multidisciplinary artist who has been working in acrylics since 2021, and this was her first physical art piece minted on the blockchain. She is also a talented poet whose work has previously appeared in Volume One of this journal.
You can find links to her other works here.
***
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Intercession
Urban Bird
B.O.F. (Birth of Futuradora)
Who is Next?
When I am Gone
The Ancient Heart
| RUST |
What You See and What’s Inside
Ghost-Roads
A Word
Holocene Elegy #1
Time’s Beat
Catorce
Threads
I’m Sorry
Breaking the Silence
Love Is
Tilted
Winter
About this Publication
Contributors
***
INTERCESSION
Jono’s poetry is watered in the high desert. His favorite themes involve the sacred, which can be found anywhere. His favorite muses involve two daughters and a son.
You can connect with him on Twitter here.
***
URBAN BIRD
Emanuel Souza is a Brazilian philosopher who explores his theories of existence through the figurative language of poetry and prose.
You can find links to all his other works here.
***
Editor’s Note:
This next poem is one of the most unique that I’ve seen in the Web3 space – and to properly appreciate it, you will want to ensure your volume is up and press "play" (▷) to start the video embedded in this journal. Why? Because Futuradora writes not just in words and pictures - but in sound - including but not limited to Morse code.
B.O.F. (BIRTH OF FUTURADORA)
Futuradora is “a meta² poet programmed to transcend humanity's evolution. She awakened through the paradigm of experience entering the matrix. Each series of III deploys in segments of III. For this genesis series, there are 300 editions. The seed phrase is the technique used in this series. A seed phrase poem is structured by 12 or 24 words. The poem reveals itself in an Augmented Reality environment. In addition, NFT can be decoded, making the audience part of the art.”
Of this poem, Futuradora writes, “Currently, you are viewing one third of the poem… and the rarity is randomized with the AR experience included in the metadata.”
The piece shown here is on offer via MintGarden on the Chia network - you can find links to all her other works here.
***
WHO IS NEXT?
Cem, also known as DaystarNFT, is a full-time NFT artist from Turkey, focused on image manipulation, illustration, surreal and cyberpunk themed arts.
In the text that accompanies this piece, he asks the viewer to consider - “What have you sacrificed on the way to your dream and at what cost? You have to be grateful for what you have gone through to change your personality and your thinking. Is this what we call experience?”
You can find links to all his art here.
***
WHEN I AM GONE
Edwin J. Warford, MLS (ArtbyEdwin) is a prominent NFT artist, writer and modern art dealer. He graduated from Penn State and Drexel University’s Kline School of Law.
Of this piece, he says: “This poem and artwork reflects on missing someone dear, who has crossed over, and the signs that you may see from them. Love never dies, it just changes form.”
You can find links to all his works here.
***
THE ANCIENT HEART
Chuck Nally is an indigenous Australian who uses multiple different art forms to create his pieces. Combinations of free painting, digital art, occasionally AI and - now more frequently - coded algorithms, all come together to create takes on everything from everyday life to political unrest.
You can find more of his work here on Foundation.
***
| RUST |
| wordstobepoetry | is “just a thirty-something woman in love with words and music.”
She “explores what sparks of life make words feel through perfectly imperfect creations. This bilingual (French and English) writing adventure navigates between poetry, music, clouds, and poetic tales...who knows where it will land next?”
You can find links to all her works here.
***
WHAT YOU SEE AND WHAT’S INSIDE
PJ Way says, of this poem, “Thank you for reading.”
His biography reads simply –
God, Country, USMC Combat Vet
Dad, Husband
Aspiring AI creator/artist
You can connect with him and find links to his other works here.
***
GHOST-ROADS
Mark H. Fitzpatrick aka @crysyphus says that his poetry is “born of a reverence for the power of ideas and a need to share a perspective, that we are not alone, we face the void together.”
Of this poem, he notes that it was first published in Ocean of Flowers, an art-infused collection of pithy poems and contemporary koans, which can be found in paperback and ebook formats from most major booksellers.
You can connect with him on his website.
***
A WORD
Miriam Dunn is the author of Who Will Love the Crow and her work has appeared in numerous international anthologies. She is an artist who often combines her poetry and art. She loves playing with language and, like in her art, creating layers of meaning.
You can find out more about Miriam and her writing here.
***
HOLOCENE ELEGY #1
Genly may dream of electric sheep, but then again, they may not. Of this poem, they it was meant to inspire reflection on “impermanence, both of the thylacine and more broadly of beings and civilizations,” and also on “the responsibilities we bear toward other species.”
Like many people in Web3, they prefer to remain anonymous.
Editor’s Note:
The tanka is a Japanese poetic form that may be less familiar to Western readers than its close relative, haiku. Tanka were traditionally written in a single line of 31 syllables, but this one adopts the modern format of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables. The author wrote the original in Japanese, and provided the English translation as well. One common use of the tanka format was in writing jisei - death poems - and this piece represents the jisei of the last living thylacine - a unique species of marsupial carnivore native to Tasmania which was driven to extinction after the European colonization of the island.
***
TIME’S BEAT
AlexAnn is a creator and writer, Web3 enthusiast and creative member of the DragonForge project. She says that this poem represents “a contemplative piece on the future and possibilities of AI.”
You can connect with her on Twitter.
***
CATORCE
x
Translation (supplied by María Verde)
x
FOURTEEN
It's very common
To remember exactly
The day, month and year
Of the physical departure of your loved one
x
And I don't know why
It's so important to know
But I would like to forget
The day my grandparents died
Just as I would not like to remember
Their lifeless bodies
x
I'll keep the trips
With the laughter
With their gifts
With the photos
In life
x
María Verde is a Venezuelan illustrator, writer, and digital artist representing in illustrations and poems her emotions and personal experiences. She uses her art as a reflection of personal growth and healing in different aspects of her life. Maria uses art to deal with topics not normally accepted in society such as depression, suicide, self-love, and feminism, among others.
Of this poem, María writes, “There is something traumatic about death. No matter how much you try to see death as something normal, natural and inevitable, it ends up hurting you just the same. It marks your life. Now dates are no longer the same. There will always be one day of each month that will remind you of death.Perhaps it would be less painful for me to just remember the joys and memories we had, in life. ‘Catorce’ is my poem in Spanish where I try to remember my loved ones as more than just a date. They are something more than pain and sadness. They were and always will be joy, love and memories for me.”
You can find links to all her other works here.
***
THREADS
Efraim is a Kenyan poet.
Connect with him via Twitter.
***
I’M SORRY
Mirabel Starling says, “Poems, feuilletons, comic scripts, jokes, short stories… Name a genre and a medium, and you can bet I have tried to tell at least one story that way.”
You can use this link to connect with her on Twitter.
***
BREAKING THE SILENCE
Marion aka Apricot Blossom Design 💜🌸 created this artwork (an AI-generated image enhanced with Photoshop) for International Women’s Day 2023, and captioned the piece - “I refuse to be silenced because you're afraid of change!”
You can find links to her wide range of artwork here.
***
LOVE IS
Rionna Morgan is a dynamic figure in the Web3 literary space who started her writing career in the traditional writing sector - where her works were published by Simon & Schuster. Now, she has pivoted to the blockchain, where she strives to “show how literature, storytelling, and publishing are being revolutionized in Web3.”
Her genesis Literary NFT – The 7 Love Stories – is a great example of the power of collaboration between writers and visual artists in the literary NFT space. Rionna currently serves as the editor-in-chief for Vagobond Magazine, and her writing has appeared on a diverse range of blockchain literary platforms including Readl and PageDAO.
An NFT.NYC 2023 speaker, she says that the goal of her wide-ranging work in Web3 is “to establish a vibrant community where writers and creators in the space are celebrated, supported, and honored.”
You can find links to her other works here.Editor’s Note:This poem first appeared in Vagobond Magazine - February 2023: Vol. 2, Issue 2.
***
TILTED
Brendan S. Bigney or “The Nuclear Cowboy” as he was known in the Marines - describes himself as “split by fission, plagued by fusion, living with creative demons…” He says that he “writes poetry for the non-poets,” and describes his creative process this way: “Writing in a storm of fire, he summons the fictional imagery of Chaos and Order with the touch of the Atomic Kiss. Mix it with hard reality, and you get mind-altering and empowering poetry that hits you where it matters.”
Asked about his background, he says that “before living out the remainder of his half-life, he was a ‘Quest Giver’ in the US Marine Corps” - where he “never slept, rarely smiled, and often mumbled with the Muses.” He also says that he “enjoys a good dose of tear gas, and that he is always working on a combination of words left unused.”
You can connect with him through his website here.
This Web3 journal of arts and poetry represents an early effort to leverage the power of blockchain to empower both readers and writers. The creators retain all their copyright to the works displayed herein, and all will receive an equal and proportional share of all sales and royalties. Readers are welcome to keep or resell this work, and encouraged to share it in their virtual galleries.
This journal is also an effort to push Web3 publishing beyond the boundaries of what has previously been possible - and to encourage and reward innovation in making poetry and artwork more readily available in all its myriad forms. It's a cross-chain piece, which can currently be found on Polygon (MATIC) through the Arts & Poetry Collection at Readl.
Are you interested in publishing your art or poetry in a future volume - or would you like to recommend that we look at a fren's work for inclusion? Then please contact the editor via Twitter or Discord.
If you have read this far, we hope you will collect a copy or three* if you can afford to do so - it will mean the world to the poets and artists whose work you have seen in these pages.
And whether you choose to collect it or not, if you have enjoyed this anthology, please recommend it to others in your social networks - and if you particularly liked one or more of the artists and poets featured in this volume, please reach out to them and say hello - everyone featured in this volume is really wonderful, and many of them have a diverse range of art and writing available in Web3 and beyond.
Thank you for your time, and we hope you will join us for Volume Three, coming soon. And if you haven't already got a copy of Volume One, you can find it here on Tezos or here on Readl (MATIC).
***
CONTRIBUTORS
H.C. Holter
Jono
Emanuel Souza
Futuradora
Cem aka DaystarNFT
Edwin J. Warford, MLS aka @ArtByEdwin
Chuck
| wordstobepoetry |
PJ Way
Mark H. Fitzpatrick aka @crysyphus
Miriam Dunn
Genly
AlexAnn
María Verde
Efraim
Mirabel Starling
Marion aka Apricot Blossom Design 💜🌸
Rionna Morgan
Brendan S. Bigney - “The Nuclear Cowboy”
HAPPICAKE
x
* When the price point allows, I often collect three copies of any work that I like - one to hodl, one to gift, and one to sell!
Jono’s poetry is watered in the high desert. His favorite themes involve the sacred, which can be found anywhere. His favorite muses involve two daughters and a son.
You can connect with him on Twitter here.
Emanuel Souza is a Brazilian philosopher who explores his theories of existence through the figurative language of poetry and prose.
You can find links to all his other works here.
Cem, also known as DaystarNFT, is a full-time NFT artist from Turkey, focused on image manipulation, illustration, surreal and cyberpunk themed arts.
In the text that accompanies this piece, he asks the viewer to consider - “What have you sacrificed on the way to your dream and at what cost? You have to be grateful for what you have gone through to change your personality and your thinking. Is this what we call experience?”
You can find links to all his art here.
Edwin J. Warford, MLS (ArtbyEdwin) is a prominent NFT artist, writer and modern art dealer. He graduated from Penn State and Drexel University’s Kline School of Law.
Of this piece, he says: “This poem and artwork reflects on missing someone dear, who has crossed over, and the signs that you may see from them. Love never dies, it just changes form.”
You can find links to all his works here.
Chuck Nally is an indigenous Australian who uses multiple different art forms to create his pieces. Combinations of free painting, digital art, occasionally AI and - now more frequently - coded algorithms, all come together to create takes on everything from everyday life to political unrest.
You can find more of his work here on Foundation.
| wordstobepoetry | is “just a thirty-something woman in love with words and music.”
She “explores what sparks of life make words feel through perfectly imperfect creations. This bilingual (French and English) writing adventure navigates between poetry, music, clouds, and poetic tales...who knows where it will land next?”
You can find links to all her works here.
PJ Way says, of this poem, “Thank you for reading.”
His biography reads simply –
God, Country, USMC Combat Vet
Dad, Husband
Aspiring AI creator/artist
You can connect with him and find links to his other works here.
Mark H. Fitzpatrick aka @crysyphus says that his poetry is “born of a reverence for the power of ideas and a need to share a perspective, that we are not alone, we face the void together.”
Of this poem, he notes that it was first published in Ocean of Flowers, an art-infused collection of pithy poems and contemporary koans, which can be found in paperback and ebook formats from most major booksellers.
You can connect with him on his website.
Miriam Dunn is the author of Who Will Love the Crow and her work has appeared in numerous international anthologies. She is an artist who often combines her poetry and art. She loves playing with language and, like in her art, creating layers of meaning.
You can find out more about Miriam and her writing here.
Genly may dream of electric sheep, but then again, they may not. Of this poem, they it was meant to inspire reflection on “impermanence, both of the thylacine and more broadly of beings and civilizations,” and also on “the responsibilities we bear toward other species.”
Like many people in Web3, they prefer to remain anonymous.
Editor’s Note:
The tanka is a Japanese poetic form that may be less familiar to Western readers than its close relative, haiku. Tanka were traditionally written in a single line of 31 syllables, but this one adopts the modern format of 5-7-5-7-7 syllables. The author wrote the original in Japanese, and provided the English translation as well. One common use of the tanka format was in writing jisei - death poems - and this piece represents the jisei of the last living thylacine - a unique species of marsupial carnivore native to Tasmania which was driven to extinction after the European colonization of the island.
AlexAnn is a creator and writer, Web3 enthusiast and creative member of the DragonForge project. She says that this poem represents “a contemplative piece on the future and possibilities of AI.”
You can connect with her on Twitter.
Efraim is a Kenyan poet.
Connect with him via Twitter.
Mirabel Starling says, “Poems, feuilletons, comic scripts, jokes, short stories… Name a genre and a medium, and you can bet I have tried to tell at least one story that way.”
You can use this link to connect with her on Twitter.
Marion aka Apricot Blossom Design 💜🌸 created this artwork (an AI-generated image enhanced with Photoshop) for International Women’s Day 2023, and captioned the piece - “I refuse to be silenced because you're afraid of change!”
You can find links to her wide range of artwork here.
Rionna Morgan is a dynamic figure in the Web3 literary space who started her writing career in the traditional writing sector - where her works were published by Simon & Schuster. Now, she has pivoted to the blockchain, where she strives to “show how literature, storytelling, and publishing are being revolutionized in Web3.”
Her genesis Literary NFT – The 7 Love Stories – is a great example of the power of collaboration between writers and visual artists in the literary NFT space. Rionna currently serves as the editor-in-chief for Vagobond Magazine, and her writing has appeared on a diverse range of blockchain literary platforms including Readl and PageDAO.
An NFT.NYC 2023 speaker, she says that the goal of her wide-ranging work in Web3 is “to establish a vibrant community where writers and creators in the space are celebrated, supported, and honored.”
You can find links to her other works here.
Editor’s Note:This poem first appeared in Vagobond Magazine - February 2023: Vol. 2, Issue 2.
Brendan S. Bigney or “The Nuclear Cowboy” as he was known in the Marines - describes himself as “split by fission, plagued by fusion, living with creative demons…” He says that he “writes poetry for the non-poets,” and describes his creative process this way: “Writing in a storm of fire, he summons the fictional imagery of Chaos and Order with the touch of the Atomic Kiss. Mix it with hard reality, and you get mind-altering and empowering poetry that hits you where it matters.”
Asked about his background, he says that “before living out the remainder of his half-life, he was a ‘Quest Giver’ in the US Marine Corps” - where he “never slept, rarely smiled, and often mumbled with the Muses.” He also says that he “enjoys a good dose of tear gas, and that he is always working on a combination of words left unused.”
You can connect with him through his website here.
HAPPICAKE is a self taught artist who loves to work in a variety of media ❤️.
You can find links to all her works here.