Mnemes - Special edition

Kristin Ryling, is a poet, primarily identified by her complex and highly sonorous, sound poetry. She uses a variety of nuances, such as cadence, alliteration, mirroring and tonal qualities, emphasis and sentence structure, to establish the lyrical demeanor evident in her writing. Her poems are intended to be abstract and suggestive, a bit of a rebel maverick, along the lines of Jackson Pollard, in equivalent terms of the traditional art world, of his time. She takes on the sacred standard of language used solely for its communicative purpose. It is her hope, in both journey and in visuals, that the reader is allowed into the process, in envisioning their own mental prespective or period, thereby becoming a kind of writer participant, facilitating their own individual imagination. For some the only valid expression of art is traditional realism, but in reality abstract art is equally present in our environment. If realism is the truest depiction of an object, such as a tree, then the space between the branches is where the abstract lies. Be it feathers, fish or butterflies, this assortment within nature exsists.

There are several elements that add to the complexity of these poems, simply put, one is her love of language and words as individual components. Kristin holds an abiding conviction, that over time, vocabulary has been reduced. There is a school of thought, active for several decades, that proposes in theory, writing should be held to its simplest conveyance. An idea not only advocating, boring redundancies, but sending so much of the glory, imagination and vibrancy of language, to its verbal grave. A basic premise exists, if words are your craft, then learn words.The author is passionate about finding the left behind and neglected, performing a somewhat deliberate resurrection. She also believes, there are many people who prefer, at times, cream over water. It is like asking an artist to limit paint color to tint and tone, black and white, over all, it’s a poor construct.

The same principle notion holds true for what is added, in her poems. Roses and violets are wonderful, but there exists a vast array of beautiful floral and fauna, still in need of poetic worship. Moths, birds, various trees, types of winds, mushrooms and lichen, often with delightfully sonorous names, waiting to be remembered and written. These candidates often find their way into her work. Unknown names of entities that most may not recognize, but should entertain, again adding to complexity. Kristin’s work follows most closely, the synthetic movement within poetry.

No one in the history of literature sounds like Kristin Ryling. These beautifully complex prose poems are collected like so many of the butterflies and moths whose names flitter through Ryling's poems on pristine pages in lovely rice paper wrapping. An unforgettable debut.

Brian Clements PhD