Kindling (Artwork & Poetry)

A collection of beautifully poignant and moving poems and artwork from a talented artist who spent a summer interacting with the animals on an organic meat farm.
In the summer of 2019, artist and poet Linnea Ryshke worked as a laborer at an organic meat farm. She transformed what she saw, as well as the specific and acute interactions she had with the animals, into a series of poems, photographs, and artwork. Linnea’s intimate, honest, and poignant experience reflects what it means to confront the lives and deaths of individual creatures under your care. As she writes: “Connection, the kind that nourishes the marrow, does not know the bounds of species. I do not risk hyperbole to say that all humans know this truth. My dog led me to the field of simple joys, and when she died, I was not prepared for the torrent of grief. The hen who harbored distrust of humans slowly warmed to me through my daily ritual of sitting with her in the barn. The turkey who, in the instant I entered her pen, ran up and inspected me. I relish the moments, from the prolonged to the acute, when I come body to body, being to being, with an animal Other.” Kindling’s artwork, poetry, and profound evocations of experiences with animals will leave a lasting impression on the reader.