Poetry

Carron fuses spoken word and lyrical sounds to write poetry inspired by each person she interviews. To date she has amassed a large volume of People Poetry and was delighted to have a new work published in Antelope Volume 2 in April 2022. Carron’s poetry draws on the history of celtic bardic culture using chant forms inspired by an ancient lyrical folk traditions. The recitations employ lyrical music to perform the work like Industrious Woman for Hilda Weiss and some fuse lyrical and spoken word like Life on Stage which is a poem composition for eight voices. Carron has also written poetry for children while working as a teacher in London, U.K. and has performed widely in schools in Chicago, USA and in the London Borough of Hackney, U.K. As an invited performance poet to Sarajevo Winter Literary Festival in Bosnia (2018) she created several workshops in schools and performed at Ragdale Foundation’s Halloween celebration for children. Here are poems from the people poetry collection.

Eight Acts of Love by Carron Little

Recorded by Troy Cruz at Experimental Sound Studio (ESS)

This poem was written during the U.S. 2020 election the day before we went to the polls. I continued to write and edit the work throughout the week and performed it on November 22, 2020 as part of a broadcast organized by Field Chicago in partnership with ESS. Later, I continued to workshop this piece as part of a poetry workshop in Glasgow, Scotland with Sukhema/ Larry Butler. The work was recorded on Setpember 8, 2023 at ESS.

(The link to the recording is not live yet but coming soon as part of an exhibition at the University of Lincoln.)

Ode to Ishi by Carron Little
Poem for Stephen Thomas

Recorded by Anthony Lachus at Gray Wolf Studios

When I interviewed Stephen Thomas for the Neighborhood Magic project in 2015 he said the most important issue for him was race relations in America. He became a partner in the Sidley and Austin Law Firm and he began a process in the early seventies to integrate the work force. This is the law firm where Michelle and Barack Obama met. But Stephen’s commitment to race relations in America went deeper and he published a research parper on the story of Ishi that he shared with me. Ishi was the last living member of the Yana Tribe in California and Ishi is the word for man in Yahi language. Reading this article and the history inspired this poem and how we are all connected with nature and time.

Industrious Woman by Carron Little, Poem for Hilda Weiss

Recorded by Anthony Lachus at Gray Wolf Studios

I interviewed Hilda Weiss in her home in Lucerne, Switzerland when she was 86 years old as part of the Spare Rib Revisited project where I interviewed eight women between the ages of 20 to 100 years old. Hilda started working at the age of six knitting socks during the second world war so her family could afford to by food. She worked in textiles most of her life with a short stint as oper in England. After a bad experience with a family in England she darted back to Switzerland where she met her German husband. Together they opened a sewing machine shop that she ran for many years. I have written the poem to the sound of a sewing machine and incorporate textile knitting language into the piece as a sonorous layer. Here is a composition created in collaboration with Erin Gernon on harp.

Uffizi Square Unturned by Carron Little Poem for Tori Berdelle

Recorded by Anthony Lachus at Gray Wolf Studios

Tori Berdelle commissioned a people poem from me in 2016 when I was selected to be one of Chicago TAP artists (The Artist Palette). The TAP program was a wonderful program run by Tiphanie Spencer connecting Chicago artists to collectors. It was a delight to meet Tori and listen to her important life moments. Having visited Ufizzi Square I was inspired by her story and drew from my memory of the echo of sound within the space. This echo is amplified through the piece structurally by representing Tori’s subjectivity as a sonorous element in the poem.

The poem becomes a tapestry of woven symbols and elements and was shared with Tori in a performance at her home along with a performance art object that incorporated an important line from the poem.

Intimate Weave by Carron Little Poem for Dave Barsotti

Recorded by Anthony Lachus at Gray Wolf Studios

Dave Barsotti participated in the second year of the civic engagement project called Neighborhood Magic. He mailed his important life moment in one of the sculptural mail boxes located in the garden of the Ridge Historical Society. These postcards were collected and delivered to Carron who wrote poetry in response on handmade prints delivering them back in the mail to participants.

I had the great fortune of working with Dave on the first year of the Neighborhood Magic project as he helped provide the workshop space and labor support to build the eight Neighborhood Magic public sculptures. This background knowledge helped me construct this tactile poem about his life in the hairdresser’s salon and Dave is also an incredible sculptor in his own right.

This project was supported by Beverly Arts Alliance and a DCASE grant from Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.