A Note from the Illustrator Matthew Zapruder’s “Lamp Day” appeared in his 2010 poetry collection Come on All You Ghosts. The poem itself is invested in honoring the small items that have entered our lives. On “Lamp Day” we are compelled to think about the emotional weight of the items we have carried from place to place, the lamp we found on Summer street, or the coffee mug from Omaha. For Zapruder, it is through interaction with these items that we remember something about the people we used to be and who we’ve suddenly become. Rather than a mawkish meditation on the value of our stuff, Zapruder’s “Lamp Day” suggests that part of the joy of having the lamp or the mug comes from taking the time to systematically remember what they mean. At its heart “Lamp Day” is about remembering the past by working through the present. In the end, this kind of meditation on the past is calming and connecting. On “Lamp Day” we remember the past as something entirely connected to the present; we see it as influencing us, and connecting us to the people on the street. We all have a lamp. The things, then, are not merely trappings of our material world, but a link to another time. At its best, designating a “Lamp Day” becomes the mode by which we honor all that has happened since the moment of possession. On the page, the poem’s structure, tight and straight, plays with the same kind of light and darkness that a lamp might give off. The right side of the page is lightened by the heavy, darkening structure of the poem on the left. Yet, the lines seem sturdy and stable, almost able to be clenched and carried, like the lamp itself. It is for this reason that my graphic interpretation is self-consciously flat. The lines of poetry in this adaptation are cut and strewn around the images, rather than using the words, like Zapruder does, to construct a sense of light. And yet, I’ve attempted to offset this inherit deficit with strange variegations of color and shading. Not only do the images have a shifting light source, but often, the light seems to be radiating from within the characters and objects rather that a secondary light source. In addition, I have chosen to juxtapose heavily detailed pages with spartan backgrounds and minimalist panels to play with notions of weight and lightness that are apparent in the poems structure. Indeed, the charm of “Lamp Day” is in thinking about reaching back into time, across spaces and experiences to remember and retrieve the past. As you’ll notice, many of the backgrounds are drawn from an extreme or at times impossible angle. Not only do these angles add interest to the page, but I also hope that they convey a similar sense of time and length. The impossibility and strangeness of such points of view are intended to reflect the oddness of the poem itself. Further, it should be noted that, to this illustrator’s knowledge, Matthew Zapruder does not have a beard. Instead, he has a face that your illustrator might classify as “too difficult to draw”. I consider my artistic limitations in this area kismet. The bearded man, who one might wonder if he is Zapruder himself, embodies a kind of coolness that is readily apparent in the poet’s collection. Zapruder’s voice inhabits the world around him, merging his poetic influences with the realities of his life in a way that grounds poetry as historically present. Indeed, the “presentness” of his work is what, in part, makes him sound so damn cool. It is for this reason that I’ve shamelessly cashed in on the bearded hipster trend to be the voice of “Lamp Day” in this collect. Besides, beards are fun to draw. Finally, I must mention the difficulties of interpreting and illustrating poetic art form. There are places in this adaptation where Zapruder’s words have rightly outshined my artistic limits. Rather than considering these moments as failings, I see them as a representation of the importance of poetic language and the difficulty of any kind of interpretation (indeed, even closing readings, for which I have become “Mastered” enough to perform). “Lamp Day” is at once real, we know the lamp exists, but it also speaks to a journey of memory and transcendence which resist quantification. For this reason, among others, I have chosen to include the poem at the beginning of this book in an attempt to forever forward and honor the poetry which has inspired this project.
Lamp Day
Mar 24, 2016
Poem by Matthew Zapruder, illustrations by Laura Scroggs
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A Note from the Illustrator
Matthew Zapruder’s “Lamp Day” appeared in his 2010 poetry collection Come on All You Ghosts. The poem itself is invested in honoring the small items that have entered our lives. On “Lamp Day” we are compelled to think about the emotional weight of the items we have carried from place to place, the lamp we found on Summer street, or the coffee mug from Omaha. For Zapruder, it is through interaction with these items that we remember something about the people we used to be and who we’ve suddenly become.
Rather than a mawkish meditation on the value of our stuff, Zapruder’s “Lamp Day” suggests that part of the joy of having the lamp or the mug comes from taking the time to systematically remember what they mean. At its heart “Lamp Day” is about remembering the past by working through the present. In the end, this kind of meditation on the past is calming and connecting. On “Lamp Day” we remember the past as something entirely connected to the present; we see it as influencing us, and connecting us to the people on the street. We all have a lamp. The things, then, are not merely trappings of our material world, but a link to another time. At its best, designating a “Lamp Day” becomes the mode by which we honor all that has happened since the moment of possession.
On the page, the poem’s structure, tight and straight, plays with the same kind of light and darkness that a lamp might give off. The right side of the page is lightened by the heavy, darkening structure of the poem on the left. Yet, the lines seem sturdy and stable, almost able to be clenched and carried, like the lamp itself. It is for this reason that my graphic interpretation is self-consciously flat. The lines of poetry in this adaptation are cut and strewn around the images, rather than using the words, like Zapruder does, to construct a sense of light. And yet, I’ve attempted to offset this inherit deficit with strange variegations of color and shading. Not only do the images have a shifting light source, but often, the light seems to be radiating from within the characters and objects rather that a secondary light source. In addition, I have chosen to juxtapose heavily detailed pages with spartan backgrounds and minimalist panels to play with notions of weight and lightness that are apparent in the poems structure.
Indeed, the charm of “Lamp Day” is in thinking about reaching back into time, across spaces and experiences to remember and retrieve the past. As you’ll notice, many of the backgrounds are drawn from an extreme or at times impossible angle. Not only do these angles add interest to the page, but I also hope that they convey a similar sense of time and length. The impossibility and strangeness of such points of view are intended to reflect the oddness of the poem itself.
Further, it should be noted that, to this illustrator’s knowledge, Matthew Zapruder does not have a beard. Instead, he has a face that your illustrator might classify as “too difficult to draw”. I consider my artistic limitations in this area kismet. The bearded man, who one might wonder if he is Zapruder himself, embodies a kind of coolness that is readily apparent in the poet’s collection. Zapruder’s voice inhabits the world around him, merging his poetic influences with the realities of his life in a way that grounds poetry as historically present. Indeed, the “presentness” of his work is what, in part, makes him sound so damn cool. It is for this reason that I’ve shamelessly cashed in on the bearded hipster trend to be the voice of “Lamp Day” in this collect. Besides, beards are fun to draw.
Finally, I must mention the difficulties of interpreting and illustrating poetic art form. There are places in this adaptation where Zapruder’s words have rightly outshined my artistic limits. Rather than considering these moments as failings, I see them as a representation of the importance of poetic language and the difficulty of any kind of interpretation (indeed, even closing readings, for which I have become “Mastered” enough to perform). “Lamp Day” is at once real, we know the lamp exists, but it also speaks to a journey of memory and transcendence which resist quantification. For this reason, among others, I have chosen to include the poem at the beginning of this book in an attempt to forever forward and honor the poetry which has inspired this project.
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