Tina Vahed

The poem "At noon—" was inspired by the contrast between local grocery stores like Tom Thumb and large retailers like Walmart, also a kind of class conflict among shoppers at different stores, from Whole Foods to Walmart.  

The poem began with an assignment focusing on self-portraits that I created for myself. I spent two weeks revisiting the grocery stores I had visited before, documenting the sounds, lights, activities, and experiences I encountered. In the poem, I attempt to create a movement between lyrical and prosaic styles. The poem includes some questions to highlight the concept of a self-portrait as the speaker seeks to find herself. I try to use stream-of-consciousness techniques to allow the speaker to move both physically and mentally between different places and times, floating through her imagination and observations to find herself and her memories. Additionally, I use enjambment and line breaks to further develop the theme of movement through time and space, enabling readers to float and leap in their imagination from one place to another. My goal was to combine video—one of my skills as a multimedia artist—with the poem to create a video poem. I used light and sound in this video to strengthen the connection between the poem and the visuals. 

The poem "In Praise of Walmart's Organic Apples" was inspired by my personal experience as an international student who moved to the U.S. last year. I was fascinated by the concept of large grocery stores. While places like Walmart, Costco, and Sam's Club are chain markets where people can find everything they need, I began to understand the notion of consumerism present in these stores. Also, I found the distinctions between organic and conventional products particularly intriguing.  

The poem began at night with interviews with some Walmart employees. I aimed to document their insights as well as comments I overheard from shoppers passing by with their carts. In the interviews, one woman paused briefly before answering my question. Her response began with "if," which highlighted the importance of unconscious thought and inspired my poem. I used imagery and sonics to make my poem surreal and mysterious because, as a multimedia artist, I seek to take advantage of space—such as light and sound—to create a new atmosphere, an essential element of my work. I play with rhyme to create a haunted echo chamber in the poem. Ultimately, the speaker in the poem changes in each stanza, shifting from the shopper to the interviewer, to the worker, and finally becoming the products themselves—the apples—using personification to enhance the narrative.