Conservative estimate: I have some 30,000 photos from my days as a tour manager for a major cruise line. Combing them for images to accompany the poetry and prose of Issue Four felt a little like Isis scouring the globe for the scattered pieces of Osiris. The clues were in the writer’s words, and they set me on a scavenger hunt around the globe. Here are some examples.
Empty Space – The photo is of a sculpture within the Peace Park in Nagasaki, Japan, not far from where an American atomic bomb detonated above the city in 1945. The “empty space” in this work represents the many people who were instantly vaporized, leaving nothing behind but “shadows” on walls. The fully fleshed, enjoined hands speak to me of the enduring nature of love, even in catastrophe. Rebecca Suzuki’s story concerns the empty space, physical and emotional, that follows a lover’s departure and this deepens the image’s meaning: often, after a relationship ends, oblivion sets in – but memory remains.
Azul – This photo is almost fifteen years old, taken with a simple point and shoot camera held inches above the water, looking out to sea, as a low wave rolled toward a remote, white sandy beach on the island of Eleuthera, Bahamas. Kate Gray’s flash piece is inspired by a somber black and white photograph but her prose is imbued with vibrant color. I chose this picture simply for its varieties of blue that echo the title.
I Take Off My Clothes for the First Time – I’ve been a fan of Eric Scot Tryon’s fiction for years and I wanted an image as richly layered, intense, and dramatic as his prose. The Fontana Pretoria is located near the municipal hall of Palermo, Sicily. Two churches are also nearby and this led prudish worshippers to dub this the “Fountain of Shame.” The sculptures of tritons, nymphs and Olympian gods date back to 1555. Almost five hundred years later, Eric’s story turns their marble into flesh.
Karla Moves About the Yard – Ike Pickett’s work is laden with powerful imagery, everything from the amber eyes of God, to Charlie Brown, to bottle rockets on the Fourth of July. I decided to start at the beginning and picked an image that evoked the title. The yard in this photo happens to be on the island of Shapinsay, part of the Orkney island chain, north of Scotland.
Castaway – Nothing says “castaway” better than a remote, flat, palm tree studded island. Although K. Albasi’s stunning story is set in the Florida Keys, this image is from Raiatea, French Polynesia. ◆
