An After Poem for After-Poem BY BRITTANY GRINHAM "An after poem can be loosely defined as a poem in homage to, in conversation with, or inspired by another poem. After-Poem by Meghan DeRoma weaves together stories and scraps of paper foraged by the artist, some kept for years by her family. With every layer of paste, she brings together meaning—often other people’s—A mother’s dusty box of her daughter’s childhood artwork. The A+ spelling tests of a teacher's precise standards brought to fruition—or other versions of self, like the cut-out photo of artist Judy Chicago, saved by a dreamy, burgeoning feminist. We all carry stories of the people in our lives. Sometimes as a power source. Sometimes as a source of disease. But do you see the glue here? The permanence? There’s no separating who we are and who we’ve surrounded ourselves with. If our lives are a poem, then they can only be thought of as an After poem, a response to the poetry that’s come before us." (excerpt) - Brittany Grinham Meghan DeRoma (b. Chicago, IL, US) is a visual artist and storyteller working in collage, painting, sculpture, and bookmaking. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.