Hello again, welcome back. A little treat to spur on 2012 now, with an animated interactive poem by agency Studio Juice, written by singer Laura Marling and illustrated by artist collective Shynola, entitled The Beast. Taken from the song of the same name, from her latest album A Creature I Don’t Know, it describes the narrator’s affair with a character both alluring and sinister – a haunting tale of forlorn love. Marling is an amazing song-writer and poet, shown in both her previous work, and the verses she has penned for this project. These duet with the expressionistic scratchy illustrations and the narration, conjuring dreamlike spectres which course through the poem and the readers mind.
Projects like this, that intersect the realms of poetry and digital mediums and distribution channels, will hook new audiences that are used to more than just the written word. Despite my belief that pure text should be enough for interested readers, when done in this harmonious manner it works brilliantly. Kudos!