The-Complete-Neruda-Interviews-1-5

The Second Interview of Dr. Jamisson Neruda
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standing inside the actual chamber in which they were placed, it is a very moving and
spiritual experience. Unlike any I’ve ever had.”
Sarah: “In what way”
Dr. Neruda: “Just that the sense of being pulled out of your body and into the portal
of the painting is irresistible. There is a very strong sense of movement into and
beyond these paintings, and the music and paintings are only two of the art forms, the
third, the poetry is also part of the experience.”
Sarah: “So tell me about the poetry.”
Dr. Neruda: “The poems are expressive of a wide range of subjects. To most of us at
the ACIO, they could have been written by any contemporary poet. There was really
nothing that caused them to stand out as representing a culture billions of years older
than our own. Many of the same themes about spirituality, love, relationships, and
death were evident in their poems as well. There’re actually two poems for each
chamber painting, so there’s a total of forty-six poems.”
Sarah: “That’s interesting. Everything else—the paintings, music, artifacts, and
philosophy—is placed one per chamber. Why do you suppose they’ve placed two
poems in each chamber instead of one”
Dr. Neruda: “In my opinion it was to provide a broader perspective into the particular
theme represented by a specific chamber. The poetry appears to be designed in such a
way to provide both a personal and universal perspective in each of the chambers…
but again, it’s just a working hypothesis at this time.”
Sarah: “I assume from the examples you left me, that the poetry is also a bit less
abstract when compared to their philosophy and paintings. Have you considered how
the poetry is related to the paintings”
Dr. Neruda: “Yes. And I believe the poetry and the paintings have the strongest
connection of all the objects in each of the chambers. I think the paintings illustrate—
in some subtle way—the themes represented in the poetry. In some instances, when
the painting represents an assemblage of abstract objects, the poetry is also more
abstract. When the painting is more illustrative, the poetry seems more like prose.”
Sarah: “Are you saying then that the poetry carries the central meaning of each
chamber”
Dr. Neruda: “I’m not sure, but it does seem that the poetry is somehow implied
symbolically in the chamber painting that it’s associated with. The problem is that the
poetry is so highly interpretive that it’s impossible to know precisely what its theme is
intended to be. Also, and I should have mentioned this before, but the grammar and
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