"Forever is composed of Nows" - Emily Dickinson
Why is it that the most profound human truths are so often conveyed by the most eye-roll inducing, clichéd phrases? All you need is love! Live in the moment! Stop to smell the roses! Dickinson’s poetry always manages to end-run these dull platitudes and tackle the biggest, weightiest ideas.
In her poem Forever - is composed of Nows, she blitzes two of her favorites, time and mortality. We humans seem to have a unique capacity to contemplate the infinite expanse of "time." We codify it, and arrange our experience of the world along an imagined timeline: first there was then, now I am here, and tomorrow I will be there.
But useful as this ability is to human civilization (would there even be civilization without it?), it obscures a simple truth. Time is merely a series of "nows." Outside the scope of memory, there is only here and now. Dickinson’s poem explores this truth, and re-contextualizes “forever” as a stream of present tense experience.
In our illustration, this present tense is represented as a map pin, a temporal “latitude of home.” The “nows” flow along a path that winds its way forever, taking the form of a snake biting its own tail.
We honored Dickinson's capitalization of the word "Now" in the quotation.
SPECIAL OFFER
Any 3 prints for $48 (regularly $72)
Code: 3PRINTS
See all prints here
• 11x14 inch art print with white border
• Premium, fine art paper made in New York
• Elegant eggshell finish
• Ships in a a rigid, flat mailer. No need to unroll!
• Fits into standard 11x14 frames (or a 16x20 frame matted to 11x14)
Obvious State is a creative studio and publisher founded by Nichole and Evan Robertson in 2011.We make bold, illustrated editions and fine art drawn from the classics.
Our books and prints are available in our shop and in bookstores and boutiques nationwide.
Our work has been featured at The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The American Writers Museum, The Emily Dickinson Museum, The Library of Congress, The Getty Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art and more.
Pair large text with an image to give focus to your chosen product, collection, or blog post. Add details on availability, style, or even provide a review.
Provocative visuals paired with punctuated language, full of surprising visual metaphors, subtext, and insider nudges that reveal themselves slowly.
Our pocket editions are portable art objects made to collect, share, and inspire moments of quiet reflection in an overstimulated digital world.
We’re drawn to language that has stood the test of time, insights that strike a chord, poetry that stretches the imagination, and philosophy that prompts critical thinking.
