Photography © Jennifer Matthews

 

Hoarder Art

I do not know when exactly against my
better judgment I kept envelopes with old
bills I already paid. Maybe it was about
ten years ago, when the shredder broke
from stuffing too many envelopes, junk
mail, and postcards. I keep a box of mail,
envelopes where I draw cartoons of things
on the back of the envelopes. I make up
the cartoons on the spot. I used to draw on
annual calendars, in the tiny boxes, but
I ran out of them. Having so many bills
and junk mail delivered on a daily basis,
I figured why not draw on the empty white
spaces? I spend my free time drawing faces,
houses, trees, birds, almost anything
that comes to mind. Sometimes I draw on
the back of store receipts and chewing gum
wrappers. Sometimes I write poems too.

 

Born in Mexico, Luis Cuauhtemoc Berriozabal lives in California, and works in the mental health field in Los Angeles, His poetry has appeared in Blue Collar Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Mad Swirl, Oddball Magazine, and Unlikely Stories. He is the author of Without Peace (Kendra Steiner Editions), Raw Materials (Pygmy Forest Press), and Make the Water Laugh (Rogue Wolf Press).

Poet/Photographer Jennifer Matthews’ poetry has been published in Nepal by Pen Himalaya and locally by the Wilderness Retreat Writers Organization, Midway Journal, The Somerville Times, Ibbetson Street Press and Boston Girl Guide. Jennifer was nominated for a poetry award by the Cambridge Arts Council for her book of poetry Fairy Tales and Misdemeanors. Her songs have been released nationally and internationally and her photography has been used as covers for a number of Ibbetson Street Press poetry books and has been exhibited at The Middle East Restaurant, 1369 Coffeehouses, Sound Bites Restaurant in Somerville and McLean Hospital.