The last weekend of February, Riley and I took a train trip to Vancouver, BC. Neither of us had been before, and we were looking forward to the freshness of a new place (and different country lol). We visited the Vancouver Art Gallery, and poured over their exhibit called Multiple Realities: Experimental Art in the Eastern Bloc, 1960s–1980s. The exhibit featured experimental art from artists from East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia. Despite intense surveillance, control and censorship, these artists were able to subvert and elude authoritarian regimes. They used what they had- their relationships, materials from daily life, their beliefs- to make some very queer resistance art. They’d lose access to certain artistic tools or means to create, and they’d pivot and create new ways of creating and sharing.

Naturally, Riley and I were enthralled and inspired. We scribbled down notes in our notebooks, and came up with ideas for how we might make and share art in these strange times. It’s an old story repeated in every oppressive context- people continuing to express themselves and make art in the hopes of a more free world.

This theme of artists dreaming up new worlds together is such a good pairing with March’s artistic angel of the month! My pal Bob is the poet behind the recently released book, Utopians in Love. I RIPPED through this collection of beautiful, inspiring, funny poems in 2 days, and I’m already looking forward to reading it again. In writing these poems, Bob researched the concept of utopia. These poems reflected on his experiences researching American utopian experiments, as well as his own personal ponderings. I’ll let Bob tell you more about himself here:

Artistic Angel of the Month: Bob Sykora

Who are you? Where do you live? 
I'm Bob (he/him). I'm a poet and educator living in Kansas City, KS. 

What does your creative practice look like right now?
My creative practice is currently lacking! With a few exceptions, I've never been able to stick to some sort of daily practice. And currently a lot of my brain is hung up on marketing my book (ew) and scheduling readings (exciting, but also not the most natural skill for me). My most creative moments lately have been when I've had the chance to work on this found footage movie thing I'm hoping to project during readings. I have no video editing skills, so I'm learning on the fly and simply accepting a lot of mistakes and missteps. Some snippets have been clipped here.

What aspects of your creative life do you feel most excited about right now?
Having a book of poems finished and about to enter the world has been weirdly freeing. I've been focused on this singular thing for a long time, and I was expecting to feel daunted by starting from scratch. Instead, I'm feeling really curious about all of these fragments and unfinished things I've written and forgotten about. I'm no longer writing to fit into a project, but writing to figure out what that project might even be. I feel like I'm learning what kind of poet I am and can be all over again.

If folks want to see more about your work, how might they find you? 
My website is here: bobsykora.com. And I've made a special page for my book here. I'm on instagram and bluesky. And I have a little poetry podcast with my friend Chris Corlew here or here.

I’m going to send another newsletter in a few days, because I have a lot to share from March! Thanks for being here!

Are you finding unique new ways to express and create in these times? Comment to tell me about it!

xoxoxox