Saturday Review in 2022: “Sound and Sense Take Flight” a review by Lorraine Hale Robinson of poems by Jeffery Beam in Spectral Pegasus / Dark Movements. Paintings by Clive Hicks-Jenkins. Kin Press, 2019.
Much like Clive Hicks-Jenkins’ multi-layered piece “Dark Movements Theatre” (seen below), Robinson shows just how multi-layered this book is. Ostensibly a collection of Beam’s poems and of paintings by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, it winds up being something completely more. “Spectral Pegasus / Dark Movements is a rich collection of poetry, visual art, and music that transcends customary boundaries between aesthetic discipline.” It “embraces the complementary art forms of painting, literature, and music.” Yes, there’s even a music cd included with Hillsborough, NC singer-songwriter Mary Rocap included. More layers.
“To read Beam is to hear resonations of the Aeolian harp of English-language poetic traditions.” Robinson takes the reader from the starting point of the Celtic Mari Lwyd traditional stories and how these impacted Hicks-Jenkins and thus Beam, pointing to the numerous equine references in both paintings and poems. Yet more layers between time and geography.
It is not often we get to review work that has so many different artistic aspects to it. Perhaps this will inspire more outright collaborations in the future. As Robinson writes, “As we pursue our own journeys into the future, Spectral Pegasus / Dark Movements by Jeffery Beam, with art by Clive Hicks-Jenkins, is a volume to take along and savor.”
