poems + selfies by delia rainey

"These images represent an insecurity of vanity within my poems, and how female artists often feel pressured to be 'hot' while also making good work. I want to critique how impersonal reading a poem can be. The text interrupts the selfie, (and vice versa), as an inner dialogue, but also so that the reader is forced to look at my face while reading the poem. When the poet is revealed, the wall obstructed, the poem can be seen as more real. Poetry's stereotype is that it's 'hard to understand' - historically, only a small group of academic, elite people hold the knowledge to 'get' poetry. This is changing, though. Through the internet, personal texts and personal pictures are accessible to everyone, constantly whirling around - people feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts, with this barrier. The poem/selfie project acknowledges that - by posting fractions of my face and my words, I am reaching out for someone to understand, while aware that no one ever really can."

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 Delia Rainey is a writer, artist, and musician living in St. Louis, MO. Her band is called Dubb Nubb. She loves lemons. Her poetry has been featured or forthcoming in Spy Kids Review, Pleiades, Potluck Magazine, Sweet: A Literary Confection, Cactus Heart, The Sensation Feelings Journal, Pajama Party Zine, and Western Humanities Review.