“Kali” from PASSPORT oil on plexi, reverse painting, 1982
PASSPORT, a book of poems by Sam Hamill and paintings by Galen Garwood, won the 1990 Washington State Governor's Award.
Greetings Everyone,
In a few days, there will be two special events—May 18th and 19th— in my other home, Port Townsend, Washington:
Memory’s Vault: The Poetic Heart of Fort Worden
Featuring artist Richard Turner, Port Townsend poet laureate Conner Bouchard-Roberts, and other poets, reading to celebrate Memory’s Vault, a remarkable public artwork. On the 19th, there will be readings of poems by the late Sam Hamill.
Sam Hamill
Back Story: I moved from Seattle to Port Townsend in 1983. A year earlier, I’d painted a series of figurative images on Plexiglass in a reverse, reductive process, experimental, different from the abstract landscapes I’d been painting. Six months after I moved to Port Townsend, I exhibited some of these in a small space near the Imprint Bookstore on Water Street. At the opening, Tree Swenson stopped in and introduced herself. We chatted briefly, and then her partner, Sam Hamill, appeared in the gallery.
Sam walked through the exhibition, studying the works without saying a word. After twenty minutes, he came up and asked, “Do you have slides of these paintings?”
“Sheep to Slaughter” from PASSPORT, oil on plexi, reverse painting, 1982
“I do.” The next day, I drove out to his office and left him a full sheet of color transparencies.
Sam Hamill, Tree Swenson, and William O’Daly were co-founders of Copper Canyon Press, which was housed at Fort Worden and then under the auspices of Centrum Foundation. When I arrived in Port Townsend, Copper Canyon already had an international reputation for publishing a broad spectrum of notable poets. In addition to having been the Editor of Copper Canyon, Sam was an extraordinary poet, essayist, and translator of Japanese, Chinese, and Estonian poetry.
Several weeks later, in the mail, I received a poem entitled ‘Slide #1.” Another week went by: ‘Slide # 2,’ then another until I’d received twenty altogether, each one in response to images from the Plexi series. Very soon after that, remarkably, the paintings and Sam’s poems became one expression. Our first collaborative project was born: Passport, the book, then a multi-media presentation of image slide dissolves, Sam’s narration, with an incredible soundscore by the late Jon Brower.
The video below is a modernized extract.
I’m deeply honored and delighted the reverse paintings I created in 1982-83 helped ignite what I truly believe to be some of Sam’s most profound gifts to poetry.
“…and you lift up your arms to the night, certain you can fly.”
Kados and I close with embracing love for this light we all share.
A moving story and beautiful collaboration.
Love the sky turning to stars in the video.
“…and you lift up your arms to the night, certain you can fly.” Indeed.
Thank you.