Void

A leaflet poem pressed by The Blasted Tree

A void accepts a scream in the night — turns it to smell.

“VOID” is a short, five line poem by Darian Razdar about sensory perception and deprivation. The poem is strongly imagistic, that is, if you consider ‘imagery’ the right word to describe verse shrouded in total darkness. The Blasted Tree has produced a limited edition of fifty hand-stamped leaflets printed with white archival ink on matte black paper.

VOID appears in my forthcoming (and debut!) chapbook, Morning Poems — a selection of verse drawn from text I wrote at the moment of waking. Over Autumn 2022, I worked with Trynne Delaney to edit pieces in the manuscript, with particular attention to imagery, sound and abstraction.

Trynne connected me with Kyle Flemmer, editor at The Blasted Tree (Calgary), and I quickly fell in awe of the careful design that each of the press’s titles evidence. It’s clear from my experience with Kyle and just by perusing their website that The Blasted Tree pays particular attention to how paper, ink, and many other design choices elaborate or even accentuate each author’s work.

Morning Poems will be out this Autumn 2023 with San Press (Toronto) and you may find the VOID leaflet for purchase on The Blasted Tree website, alongside many distinctive titles.

I’m very much looking forward to celebrating these milestones when the time comes : )