“HE SAY TENSE NOTE PLET SOME VENT EITH
FUT TIME OR PAST OR NOT OR I WILL HAVE
ALT FUT OTH MAG WHEN I COUNT BLESS
WHEN WE SLIP TWEEN NEXT FAM CUR HUNG”
Words stripped of their ornamentation, pared back to monosyllabic cores…
Are these the roots of language? Or are they the skeletal remains of a lost form of communication?
Who is trying to speak here? What exactly are we being told? Perhaps a coded message.
More likely, a cry for help.
The animated text is read by an automated text-to-voice program, without any editing for apparent mis-pronunciations. The interludes list the range of potential words that can be generated from each monosyllabic core.
• official selection, Cadence: Video Poetry Festival (Seattle, April, 2020);
• official selection, FILE Electronic Language International Festival (Sao Paolo, August, 2020);
• finalist, screened at 2020 Newlyn Short Film Festival (UK, April, 2020);
• official selection, Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (Wales, May, 2020);
• official selection, screened at 8th International Video Poetry Festival (Athens, December, 2019);
• official selection, REELpoetry 2020 international poetry film festival (Houston, TX, January, 2020);
• Honorable Mention in Experimental Forum Film and Video Art Festival (Los Angeles, July, 2019);
• text published in e•ratio 28 (2019).
FUTURE PERFECT HE SAY TENSE NOTE PLET SOME VENT EITH FUT TIME OR PAST OR NOT OR I WILL HAVE ALT FUT OTH MAG WHEN I COUNT BLESS WHEN WE SLIP TWEEN NEXT FAM CUR HUNG WITH NEV LY FRESH WAT VOL CLEAR AIR FOR SPIR IN OUT HALE HALE ELSE CHEST SPLUT FLAM EYE BLINK MY CUT LIP QUIV WE LIST EV JECT EV SOUND UND ROOF THEY STRUCT OV TREE BURN SKIN GRASS CLAY CRACK DOWN MID EARTH DEEP SPLIT SO WE VOID ZARD WARE CIP AST LOOM LESS GRAV DRIFT PLAN ORB SKEW FROM REG NEW MOON TRAV FURTH FROM EASE SCRIPT AND QUAKE RUMB FORT MISS OUR FRAG HOME HE SAY SEEM DICT MAKE FUT FER THING PAST BUT HERE PLY FER BUT WE NARR TALE WITH HIST WITH UNC AUNT GRAND GREAT OUR CEST OUR SIB NOW VIVE TAIN PRESS I WE VIS NUMB DRESS CRYPT SEC VEIL FING PRINT DENT MY WHORL TOUCH COG SAFE OR NOT POSS CIDE MIT TO SEARCH GARD CEPT PORT TO FIGHT BATT MIN SPECT THOUGH OUR CRETE JUNG SHELT HID NEATH SOL TERR NEATH TOX GAS WARD US ROUND OUR FEEB SIST SID US STANT TURN BACK CROSS OPT MY OUR DREAM WE COV OATH THEY CORD FIC NOR US TREAT US AS DIRT STILL COME WISH AFT FORE TO HAVE BEEN