Beverly Nelson
I think of writing as an act that produces an object that provides a conduit for the reader. From paying attention to the world I live in, I intuitively select a few subjects to research. I take my time, usually a year or more, coaxing shy associations out of these seemingly disparate subjects. Then I mix in a personal narrative. My note-taking technique further narrows and defines. By devising restraints along the way, the different subjects are corralled into a conceptual boxing ring resulting in collisions and collusions. Not necessarily violent, they happen like clumsy tango dancers. Teetering on this unstable threshold, where the outcome is unknown, I begin to compose a written text. Words both cooperate and conspire with one another and with me. Some information survives while some is lost. What remains is shaped into a new idea with ghosts of the original subjects showing up in places. With time and work, this new text evolves, swells, emerges, and extends beyond the page. I allow it to influence my performance, my conveyance of it, including body movement, sound, video, props…
