Do you want to be overly exposed to vibrant photography while exploring the journey of a young woman constantly contrasting all the different meanings of longing? Christine Sloan Stoddard’s new hybrid poetry collection, Heaven is a Photograph, focuses on the exceedingly saturated feeling a woman has through the pixelated lenses of all the gendered noise and general bullshit one faces. It continuously asks, “What is the resolution?” Of course, an interview was in order. Here’s a candid conversation with this fellow City College of New York alum, poet, photographer, and filmmaker.

What was the genius of this book? 

Way to knock the air out of me! I needed a moment to breathe after that compliment. So, first of all, thank you. Now, for a response to your question. The boring answer is that it began as a grad school homework assignment during my MFA in Digital & Interdisciplinary Art Practice at The City College of New York-CUNY. The more vulnerable (and interesting) answer is that it’s lived in me for a long time, close to a decade at this point. While it’s loosely based on certain aspects of my life, I connect with the protagonist in more of a spiritual and emotional sense than a literal one. There are multiple personal experiences, observations, and references to art history that all informed Heaven is a Photograph. But I would be lying if I didn’t cop to this: Ultimately, I went with my impulse.

Making art is hard. Women especially have a lot working against us. Traditionally, we have been the subjects, not the creators, in Western art. Have I had my run-ins with sexist jerks? Yes, certainly. Have I experienced a spectrum of misogyny sometimes not so easy to define? Yes, definitely. Nearly every artist I know who’s a woman would say the same. And many artists who are not women will admit to witnessing gender-based power imbalances from time to time. Fewer identify as being part of a system that privileges male artists and their artwork. That’s probably because they fall into the trap of thinking that because they’re one of the “good ones” that systematic differences don’t exist. Whoops, but they’re wrong. All of us participate in a patriarchal society and it’s on all of us to work for change however we can. That power imbalance of course not only exists in art but all aspects of society.

But speaking of art… I’d argue that photography especially has a macho problem and, while that’s changing, it ain’t done been changed yet, y’all! And photography does not only include fine art but mass media, including advertising, journalism, and entertainment, too. Mass media is the same vehicle for so many societal notions concerning femininity and the female body. Photography’s ubiquity, combined with its gendered messaging, poses a special issue for women wishing to break into photography. Most women are socialized not to use their voice as their men do. Yet one of the roles of the artist is exactly that: to speak up, and with faith in one’s vision. Speaking up, using the tool that’s been used against them, is not something that enough women have the confidence to do yet.

Love the structure of this book! Can you speak on that choice?

Yay! Thank you once again. I wanted to assume a more or less chronological order for the book in terms of its narrative flow to capture the protagonist’s journey. It’s a journey full of hesitation and false starts, from childhood to post-college young adulthood. The photographs themselves seem to interrupt that journey as often as the protagonist confronts a new hurdle and doubts herself. I think back to my own journey as a creative writer and artist and, trust me, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. But I’m still on this damn boat.

Obviously, photography plays a big part in Heaven is a Photograph. Not only are there photos in the book, but also within the writing as well. What drew you to mixing these two mediums to create this hybrid text?

Yeah, not to be glib, but it seemed like a natural choice to insert photographs into a book about photography. I do tend to create hybrid works and I think that’s for a few reasons. One is by early exposure and I will always credit my parents for that. I never grew out of perusing picture books, even when I graduated to more complex texts. Don’t get me wrong—I love novels, but I like having my cake and my ice cream, too. At Grinnell College, I immediately signed up for a freshman seminar called Word & Image. (It was my second favorite course there, the first being Digital Art.) I read that course description and was sold; I don’t even recall reviewing the other options. When I transferred to VCUarts, I spent hours in the Art History section of the campus library every month. This remained true even after I switched one of my majors from Art History to Film. Most Art History books have pictures and sometimes I was content to “read” for those alone. When I took a VCU course in the History & Form of the Book and learned about artist books, well, that was a game changer. I continue to seek out hybrid texts today.

Another reason I create hybrid texts is because of my love for film. My father is a documentary filmmaker and my mother is a cinephile, so film has always been a part of my life. (You can now watch my film Bottled on Amazon Prime Video and my film Butterflies as part of the Visible Poetry Project.) Even though I identify as a writer first, I am a very visual person. I picture things immediately, which explains my gravitation toward imagery in poetry. Film merges narrative and visuals; every moment in the story must be illustrated. I don’t go quite to that extreme in Heaven is a Photograph, but the same instinct remains: create pictures to go with the story.

Lastly, hybrid texts are mash-ups and I’m a mash-up, too, so I don’t shy away from interdisciplinary art. My mother is from El Salvador; my father is American-born and of Scottish/Northern English descent. I have Catholic heritage on one side of the family and Protestant on the other. I was born and raised in the South, but never fit in because of my Latin and Yankee roots. Now I live in New York City, the land of fusions. I’ve spent my life mixing things up and I don’t plan on putting the spoon down anytime soon.

Where in this collection would you like the reader to spend a little more time and why?

My favorite poem, “Unrequited Pixels,” is all about giving attention. With our digitally obsessed culture, we do not pause and focus often enough. I consider every photograph an offering from its creator, and as much as possible, I want to honor that offering. Looking closely is an art in and of itself. Though “Unrequited Pixels” is not a long poem, it urges the reader to stop and reflect.

There’s a prose poem in the book, “Radiance Cannot Be Photoshopped.” What motivated this difference among the other pieces?

This poem is a manifesto of sorts. It speaks more explicitly about women’s traditional role as the subject in photographs versus the creator of them. I wanted this poem to stand alone as a piece for women who think they don’t like or care about poetry. The message is clear and direct because I want it to be understood without question: Women are worth more than our looks and our bodies and the expectations put on our physical selves.

What do you hope the reader will take away the most from Heaven is a Photograph?

I hope the reader will take away that art takes courage. Artists, do not be timid.

Thank you, Christine, for this warmly raw interview and creation of such a striking book. It’s such an important piece of art to have out in the world.

Please head over to Clash Books and purchase Heaven is a Photograph!

KRISTINE ESSER SLENTZ is a queer, experimental poet from northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area. She is a Purdue University alum who double-majored in English literature and creative writing. Recently, she earned her MFA in creative writing (poetry) at City College of New York where she is an adjunct professor and an organizer of the MFA Reading Series. Some places her poetry has appeared in or is forthcoming include Yes Poetry, Moonchild Magazine, The Shallow Ends, Glass Poetry, Pink Plastic House, Barren Magazine, Crab Fat Magazine, Philosophical Idiot, and Flying Island Journal where she was nominated for a 2017 Pushcart Prize.

IG/Twitter: @keslentz  Facebook: @kristineesserslentz  website: http://kristineesserslentz.com/