Anything mesmerizing

Artist Statement

This collage poem is part of a series I’m currently expanding on finding poetry in unexpected places. As an LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent poet, I seek to create poetry that brings advocacy and understanding. Though I’m still relatively new to the poetry scene, I have focused primarily on standard poems and am even newer to the world of collage poetry. Whenever I paint, a calmness washes over me. My passion for poetry fills me with excitement. Being able to join them into one medium feels so natural and enjoyable. I love the feeling of creating something new in an unexpected way. I was greatly inspired by Sarah J. Sloat’s Hotel Almighty, which introduced me to erasure using materials.

The book page is from E. L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey. For the images, I cut out various pieces from Maria Rivans' Extraordinary Things to Cut Out and Collage using scissors and glue to assemble. The blue marks were made with a permanent marker.

Lee Johnson is a LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent poet. He is a master’s student at Weber State University studying creative writing. His poem “What I Dreamed Last Night” was published by 30 North Literary Review. He has presented his poetry at English Honors conventions held in Minneapolis, MN and Louisville, KY.