Unsong
A collaboration between Joe Brubaker & Ella Goodwin
March 2023
Joe Brubaker
"Born in U.S. Midwest in 1948, family moved to SoCal in 50’s. Grew up in blue collar Southern LA, California, Compton area, USA. My Dad was a carpenter and outstanding Django Reinhardt style guitar player…jazz abounded in our home..my Mom was the neighborhood hair dresser…learning all the neighborhood gossip in our small living room …I learned to Shelter in Place my sensitive self in conviviality and peacemaking mentality. Eventually I earned an MFA from UCLA (Art and Design) . Married “ Trueblue” in 1980, have two well loved adult progeny, each with two even more well loved children. Moved to the paradise of Marin County, Northern California, USA. in the 80’s.
Jobs held in my life : In order of my appearance : Signpainter, glass factory union worker, pear and apple fruit picker, Ranch assistant , carpenter, (terrible) redneck bar band singer and guitarist, primary school art teacher, Exhibit Designer, Uni lecturer ( SF State U, and Academy of Art College) , sculptor…..most important jobs : husband and father. Lapsed car nut…raced the La Carrera Americana in Mexico twice, and am still alive. Mountain biker, hiker and camper. Amateur guitarist and songwriter. Avid and curious traveler.
Began reading Neruda , William Carlos Williams, Rimbaud , Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Bukowski in my early twenties. Discovered Raymond Carver a bit later, related to his American blue collar stories. Then Rumi hit me in the heart and the head. I haven’t recovered . Reading Joy Harjo and Ocean Vuong now. Currently preparing for a sculpture show at Seager Gray Gallery I’m Mill Valley, California.( still making sculpture!) I am writing poetry nearly every week after a lapse of a decade or two. Goals in life? Wisdom, quietude, appreciation, gratitude, empathy, optimism…most important,extending, feeling, reveling in the power of love."
Ella Goodwin
"Hi, I’m Ella and I’m an illustrator, designer and fancy things maker based in the wilds of the East in Norwich!
My illustration practice aims to be uplifting and to bring a moment in time to stop, to bring a smile, to offer the chance to take a break and bring creativity into every moment. I’m a bit of a polymath with a background in costume and animation leading to creating characters, homewares, kits and illustrated books. I’m inspired by travel, making and the written word so to illustrate this poem was a challenge to be embraced.
The poem resonated with me, the need for peace, silence, lightness. The illustration incorporates the idea of the swirling galaxies being sucked down, opening up our hearts, taking in lungfuls of air. The butterfly wings represent the lungs at the top, which are ethereally satiated at the bottom. The doves made of stars fly across both worlds, the honeysuckle roses were a visual I couldn’t resist with the way they impact so many of our senses, sight, sound, smell.
Poems by Post is such a wonderful idea, tactile and real and supporting creativity in such a soulful way, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of it!"
