We recently connected with Sara Matson and have shared our conversation below.

Sara , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

hide / lie // lie/// undercook

existing in the imaginary circle means
always choosing
forcing my door closed in nightmares
all my strength
to keep the raptors out
(texture wise, it’s spot on)

existence ?
i am again required
to transfer skin into ink
across a restless page +
in doing so,
tiny droplets absorb each other,
unison twirling stolen office paper
drawing up viscera w/
invisible capillary action
rearranging my cuticles
around the stain

go ahead,
i’m listening

sticky garbagejuice trail from
can to curb existence
forced stomach (an entire meal)
i sense the suspicion + potential
high on rooftop nausea
friendship in a stolen legal envelope

go ahead, u can fast forward

the problem is the method /
not the cause

(existence) is the method //
not the cause

Sara , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

i am reminded of the wet lightning of my youth
skull fastened within an inch
of my life, still
we glide faster than ever
toward a worthy flashpoint

set jaw // family tree // evolution standing in place

Danielle my in-womb twin (flowery morning sickness) NOT INVENTED
maternal grandmother (lukewarm blueberry cereal) OUIJA BOARD ONLY
maternal grandfather (cigarette engine grease) OUIJA BOARD ONLY
paternal grandmother (Barbara Streisand could never) LOCAL DELI ONLY
paternal grandfather (current fairy godmother, but racist?) LANDLINE ONLY
mother (whale trainer affair) WON’T ANSWER
father (potentially also the moon) LANDLINE/MOVIE THEATER PREVIEWS
brother (generational favorite, innumerable joy) CUTE KID PICS ON REPLY
sister (by marriage + love) FLORAL SADNESS COLOGNE NOW AVAILABLE
other sister (thief of experiences) UNAVAILABLE
myself (dirty leather wallet) EMOTIONAL, TRAGICALLY HIP
uncle (benevolent godfather, escapee) BOOK VIA SKYPE
other uncle (stoic, favorite color is orange) WEEKEND SHOWS ONLY
aunt (heinous, but gorge in leather) TRAILER PARK SHOWS ONLY
aunt Helga (kind, thinks i’m stupid) DEUTSCHER DOORKNOBS ARE CHALLENGING
other aunt (forgot me at daycare, suburban) STILL USES ASK JEEVES
cousin (frenetic smiler, ex-military) HAVEN’T SEEN IN 16 YEARS
other cousin (living in the Balkans, maybe) HAVEN’T SEEN IN 27 YEARS
other other cousin (incarcerated) UNAVAILABLE
other other cousin (incompatible) FILE UNAVAILABLE

we smile or not, laugh or not,
+ love each other how we’re meant to:
stressed + clutching each other’s ashes in tight
damp fists + wandering endless,
unfathomably deep trenches of
highly saturated drowned love

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

unflattering angles

victory is a well worn kiss
familiar grooves set
among the nightstars
start to finish,
+ sharp
(like whiskers)

come here little demon
it’s ur time
+ unflattering angle
remember

moonstone mother
clasp my jaw
help me create effortless terror
broken tyrants spiral
launched by passion or commitment
into an abyss we all created
smashing bellybuttons together
(kinky)

the road to my coffin lined in generous
cottonpoly + stuck to playroom walls
like a sick bug

gentle suction in a summer windmill
what an endless delight !

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

cALm

i’ve always wanted good eyeliner
+ one dozen suits to hang
on my every word while u
stroke my hair
+ smoke a pipe
never even getting the shits !

keep it raining, keep it pigeon
toed

in a moment, u will breathe in arcana
like a mysterious fact
nuclear but delicate
i wipe the lips of the lemon
w/ familiarity
(to enhance the flavor)

indulge in each smoke soaked letter
smoke every dollar store eyecrayon
w/ authentic bic lighter
while u tell me about ur signature:

“my lovely nana just adored
roses”
see: delicate hand painted petals
along the inside of the mould

see: red faced glassy eyed nan
double fisting pint glasses filled
w/ golden ale (authentic)

black currants bother brother growth
brother grother bothers black burrants

highland cow effects
set me in the tire tracks
lie me in the dirt
lifelined palms smashed into
the faces of complicit elders
crosshatched thighs
fresh tattoos sticking
to unwashed sheets
(yuck)

CAlmworld
cALmworld
caLMworld
+ here we r breathing
+ breathing
etc, etc, etc

Artist Statement
I want to thank brilliant poet and friend Kristin Garth for the introduction and David Tan for the opportunity to create this piece for CanvasRebel. I approached the questions in a sort of rhythm, a circadian-type of movement that felt like rapid eye patterns before or during dreaming, which I engaged to lend an “in-between” sensation, I wanted the sensation of angles. Like eye crusties, like morning lash veil, like used tea leaves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/saramatson
• Instagram: @skeletorsmom
• Twitter: Bluesky: @saramatson.bsky.social
• Youtube: @saramatson7979
• Other: Sara Matson (she/her) is a poet in Chicago. Her poems can be found in Bone Bouquet, Kicking Your Ass, Ghost City Press and crumpled in recycling bins from Berlin to Waukegan. Sara hosts the seasonal online reading series Words // Friends and her latest chapbook, (Women) In STEM is available from Bottlecap Press. Her pop culture chapbook, Special Features: DVD Poems is available on Amazon from Alien Buddha Press. Sara’s full length book of poetry, <personal fashion> is available directly from her at linktr.ee/saramatson. Find her on Instagram @skeletorsmom and read more of her poems at linktr.ee/saramatson https://neutralspaces.co/saramatson is also a good spot to find previously published poems by Sara Matson.

Image Credits
Bill Ripley Kevin Bertolero Red Craig Mullins