Abstract:
Rhinocerotica is a collection of poems tracing one man’s growth in interest for the
arts through an examination of certain pieces of artwork and ending in the title poem
where the personal, political, and the imagination collide.
The ‘Rhinoceros’ poems are derived from memory and misremembered dreams.
The exploration of my own childhood memories of being introduced to art, dreams of
floods, dreams of dying, and my Spanish heritage and history create the group of poems
in this mostly narrative sections.
The second section ‘Erotica’ contains referential, strong-voiced lyrics of both the
sexual and ekphrastic, which explore the ego or the lack thereof in an artist; specific men
or women in visual art; and inanimate objects that are not explicitly sexual.
The surreal and final section, ‘Rhinocerotica’ is collaged, personal, historical,
political, contains high and low cultural references, and aims to excite and inspire. I want
to try to capture a communal climax through amalgamation.
