Black kingdom: A poetic contemplation of the night sky

In this creative project that is envisioned to constitute a full-length poetry collection tentatively titled, Black Kingdom, I propose a poetic contemporary depiction of the night, broken into the following major themes: as backdrop, organizing principle, and staging ground; as active agent, prompting and permitting a wide range of responses and experiences; as subject of contemplation, as refracted by different forms of art; and, finally, as well-established religious symbol, serving as spiritual locus, refuge, the hour of enlightenment. These thematic handles are mirrored in the structuring of the chapters as such: Evening Lights, Nocturnes, Black Poems, On the Eve of My Transformation. Fully aware that since all the poems feature the same recurring imagery, I admit to the fluidity that may be generated by the poems across the chapters into a veritable web of associations, juxtapositions, and overlaps. Offering a background to the creative project is the depiction of night in other bodies of knowledge, such as religion and myth, and in other literary texts as well. An investigation into my history, tradition, and poetics is also conducted to illuminate the strategies, the artistic directions, and the philosophy that deeply inform and imbricate into the writing of the poems specific to the collection