Penal Colony

By Joe Nicastri & Sherri Tan

When we read into something, especially when its bound information becomes accessible to us, does it not become a book? When an object speaks to us, does it not become art? Here is a poem by Emily Schwartz, a student of Florida Atlantic University, which helps to encapsulate the spirit of Joe Nicastri & Sherri Tan's work, Penal Colony:

Book

What is a book but the page of stories told and unspoken,
What is a book but a list of events ripped and burned,
What is a book but lines on a page in words once learned,
What is a book but short or broken?

Glistening gems in formats untold,
Showing world and visions of old,
A book is a place a thing or a feeling,
Of things that give humans meaning.

Think aloud or to yourself of things you’ve desired,
Touch the pages or light the match of your brain kindled fire.

Let no-one tell you what is or is not,
Let you fill your mind with the things you can wrought.

- Emily Schwartz