Discover Pullman, a beautiful New Poetry Audiobook About Pullman Car Porters of the 19th Century Railroad from Award-winning Artist JoAnne McFarland
Hello again, dear audiobooks friends! Today’s article is dedicated to a collection of poetry, visual art, and two-voiced auditory performances – JoAnne McFarland’s Pullman, published in audiobook format by Author’s Republic. In this captivating and truly entertaining work, the talented author examines themes of labor and love, using as its backdrop the treatment of the Pullman car porters of the late 19th century.
The visual art and poems both reflect on and interact with cultural and historical sources, from the slave narratives of Harriet Jacobs to the creative output of the poet and artist’s late father, a musician and songwriter for Aretha Franklin. With urgency, and without apology, Pullman underscores the relationships between the events of the American past and of the present.
In this audiobook edition, JoAnne McFarland narrates in collaboration with voice artist and designer Schuyler Grant. With power and grace, they expertly transform the visually compelling landscape of the page into an embodied soundscape. The print collection includes 16 full-color reproductions of McFarland’s collage pieces.
Speaking to the dynamism of her creative practice, and her role as creative director of ArtPoetica Project Space, McFarland explains:
“I’m always searching for ways to create multi–layered aesthetic experiences for [my audiences] combining visual art with poetry, interior design, auditory elements, and other sensory input. In this way, I create a kind of meditative envelope, a multi–dimensional space that feels supremely ordered and safe, an antidote to the chaos and violence that surrounds us.”
Grid Books editor and publisher Elizabeth Murphy believes that producing audiobooks narrated by the poets themselves is central to the long-term project of archiving important voices in American poetry: “Preservation is key to our mission to work with older poets who continue to create and produce,” Murphy explains. Grid Books’ audiobook venture also aims to promote engagement with poetry by increasing its accessibility and connecting authors with a wider and more culturally, geographically, and economically diverse audience.
JoAnne McFarland is an artist, poet, and curator. Her poetry collections include Acid Rain (Willow Books), Identifying the Body (The Word Works), and multimedia collection Tracks of My Tears (The Word Works). McFarland’s artworks are part of the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and the Columbus Museum of Art among many others. McFarland is the artistic director of Artpoetica Project Space in Brooklyn, which exhibits work that focuses on the intersection of language and visual representation.
Schuyler Grant is an illustrator and designer specializing in evening wear. Grant was the recipient of the Marie Rose Camporeale Memorial Award for Excellence in Bridal Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
I will return soon with a full review for this extremely promising work of literature, but I’m sure that I will enjoy it after listening to the sample. Until then, take care, stay safe, and don’t forget, always listen with your heart!
The audible version of Pullman is available now on Audible, Amazon, and at other online retailers.
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Victor Dima
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