ISSUE NO. 5: ON CROWDS
May 2021
This issue of Pearl Press features work from:
Lo K. Clayton
Devon Riley
Emmy Hicks-Jablons
Beverly Frydman
Johan Orellana
Chris Rojas
Molly Peters
John Kinney
Jinwoo Hwon Lee ìŽí€
Jennifer Klockner
Lawrence Agyei
Blythe Cross
John O’Toole
Madison Wilds Burger
Jacob Grumulaitis
Cover image: Lawrence Agyei
Curated by: Delilah Twersky
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Download the PDF below.
Untitled: Lo K. Clayton
Picnic: Devon Riley
Untitled Series: Savannah Hardman
Of The Planet; In Which They Were Torn: Emmy Hicks-Jablons
A CROWD OF PARAKEETS IS CALLED PANDEMONIUM
Brash green marauders
dressed up party goers
feathery treetop clique,
linger like teenagers
trolling each other
not ready to go home.
Unloved by many
because of the shitting
there’s also the thieving.
I love their F-U-ing
they don’t care who sees them,
won’t hide their light
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unlike rats in the bushes
dragging in rubbish
from leftover swarms
of picknickers crammed
onto moth eaten blankets
starving for company
the lime green invaders
without proper manners
are never without.
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Beverly Frydmanâ
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hope you know i'm in love with you too Series: Savannah Hardman
Lady Walking Dog, Miami: Johan Orellana
HAUNTED
For John (1997-2020)
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Upon returning to the city, I see him
driving an ambulance on the BQE,
waiting for the light to change at Roosevelt Avenue,
eating alone in a Starbucks,
content in the simplest way.
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The length of his body
on the shore banks of Astoria...
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The basement I inhabit is crammed with stacks of books
I pretend to have finished reading.
“One day I’ll sit down and read War & Peace,”
said No One with a Life, ever.
After ten days of “One Hundred Years of Solitude”
I left home for a night of bad attitudes and safe fun,
but don’t ask me about “Swann’s Way” because i can only remember
...the length of their bodies
in bags outside Elmhurst Hospital.
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I opened a door / a memory / a dream:
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An empty Astoria Park / roaring police lights
Citizens covered / an ambulance racing down 19th street
You become a cloud of smoke / report of a shot fired
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...
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Measure the pain of the people you left;
Hearts heavy with guilt, they knew why you fled
Alone with a gun, to the East River shore.
The length of their bodies,
you added one more.
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Chris Rojas
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Traces, Encinitas, CA: Molly Peters
Ginza: John Kinney
Ueno Park: John Kinney
Intruded and Unapologetic: Jinwoo Hwon Lee ìŽí€
Citizens III: Jinwoo Hwon Lee ìŽí€
Untitled: Lo K. Clayton
TIMES FROM THE PAST THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SMUSHED TOGETHER AND WE HAD NO IDEA HOW GOOD WE HAD IT
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Big John’s wedding. This was my first wedding as an “older kid”, I think I was 12ish. It was filled with so much joy and love and laughter. We danced the night away and the happy couple looked beautiful.
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Nicky’s wedding. It was hot and sticky in the south but it didn’t bother anybody because the day was so beautiful. We all sat in a painting-like entry hall room as I watched my brother marry the love of his life. I have a picture from that night of me hugging Nicky. We aren’t that affectionate necessarily, I love that photo.
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Halloween party on Myrtle. Camille came back from that party and told Emily, “that party was kinda gross, everyone was just making out with each other.” It’s true. That’s where I met Delilah.
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Concert with Sara. We went to this festival thing with The Front Bottoms, Twenty One Pilots, and Catfish and the Bottlemen. It was super hot, and we both got a little crispy. We were on the lawn with hundreds of other people piled up on top of each other. Bottled Water was $4.50.
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Bob Smith’s Soccer camp, early 2000s. We used to have camp behind the old ice skating rink in Mercer County Park. We’d run around like maniacs and then go inside the rink for lunch where we’d have pizza and juice.
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4th of July at Carl’s nephew’s. We drove up a ways and I don’t like the car much but it was worth it. Delilah looked beautiful. The food was my favorite kind. The kids all climbed up on top of me in the pool as we played. The next day my muscles were sore.
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That one time me and Emily threw a party. I filled a huge clear plastic bag with ice from the gym where I worked and dragged it over to her basement. We filled the sink with ice and bud light. We had flowers and people painted each other’s faces.
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Broadway
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Farm parties
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Nicky’s navy graduation. That was so many people. It was like a sea of white, it was so hard to spot him. I was still wearing dresses at that point. I was (am) so proud of him.
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These are in no particular order, I wrote them as they came to me in a stream of consciousness.
I’m lucky to have so many people in my life I want to be near.
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Jennifer Klockner
Tribe: Lawrence Agyei
Shani Crowe: Lawrence Agyei
Imani + Indigo: Lawrence Agyei
hope you know i'm in love with you too Series: Savannah Hardman
Rest Stop Blues: Blythe Cross
FRAGMENTS AND PIECES
Half faces, half glimpses.
Memories there and faded.
Though pop up like notification
when you’d least expect something to come around.
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Will the subway ads ever change?
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Play to five people.
As long as it’s a five seater.
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Just wander like the peacocks at the Prospect park zoo.
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Traveling in pairs, packs, and trios.
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Harder to bob and weave on the sidewalk.
Lines at the crosswalk.
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Untitled Series: Savannah Hardman
One of Many: John O'Toole
You see friends you haven’t seen in awhile.
And you just circle each other like dogs in a park.
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Old snow and traces of footsteps covered by fresh flurries.
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Empty space.
Full space.
Half space.
Coming and going. There for a minute. A minute they’re there.
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To smile like a singer does.
When an audience sings their lyrics.
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John O'Toole
Extra Seat: Madison Wilds Burger
Untitled: Lo K. Clayton
Late Night Ride: Jacob Grumalaitis
Shani + Indigo: Lawrence Agyei
Thank you for reading.
For more updates check @pearl.press on Instagram.
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Delilah Twersky
Pearl Press
©2021