The First Meeting

Hello, readers! This is Luke, the aforementioned literary contributor for Kindlyn. On a side note, the person who wrote the last two blogs was Hayden Davenport, our founding member and one of our two musical contributors. I'd just like to say that I'm thrilled to be working on something like this, and I hope that you readers find this blog informative, inspiring, or at least entertaining. Anyways, onto the subject matter at hand, the first meeting!

The four of us, Hayden, Jordan, Jessie, and myself, all seemed to have the same vague idea of what we wanted this project to be when we met up last Monday. We wanted to create something meaningful and inclusive while simultaneously experimenting with and developing our skills as artists, musicians, and poets. However, something like that can't be achieved until we know what we're doing, or so we thought. To that end, we spent most of the night discussing what exactly we wanted to write, paint, or sing about.

As per the original idea, the plan was to create a fictional world. To fill it with so much detail that the characters, scenarios, and themes almost write themselves. As you might imagine, we had a bit of difficulty coming up with everything on the spot, so we decided to start small: each of us tried to think of a situation, a moment, or a feeling they'd had that would be worth writing about.

Based on this method, we ended up with a lot of options for the world, including parallel universes and utopias. With so much to choose from, we decided that it might be better to just try out a smaller idea for the first poem/song/painting (for ease of reference, we call the sum of our work on a particular idea a Combustion). I took interest in a story Jordan told about how he found himself near the top of a skyscraper in Chicago, looking out at the city at night. Looking at the intricate, orderly lights all throughout the city contrasted with the bleak, grey unknown of Lake Michigan, he said he felt a sense of wonder. The kind of wonder that makes you stop and think, "There is so much I've yet to see and know in this world". We eventually agreed that this scenario and the theme of wonder (or lack thereof) would be a fitting introduction to this new world of ours. Thus, we dedicated our first Combustion to it.

That's about the gist of the meeting. After that, we made a brief plan of action: I would have a week to write lyrics, Jordan and Hayden would have two weeks to write music inspired by my lyrics, and Jessie would have two weeks to make some form of visual art inspired by the music, with a bit of overlap concerning the timing. And so it begins! As it happens, I've already finished the lyrics and Hayden and Jordan are already at work for the music. I'll be writing about my work soon, so be sure to check this blog again if you're interested!