Verb Gazelle

Abstract

Verb Gazelle is a poetry–art manuscript featuring themes of childhood wonder, identity, aging, and autonomy as well as visual experimentation with mixed media textile art, embroidered handwriting, found objects, and digital collage using childhood photos and cropped photos of diary entries to preserve the source material. The poem series “Alphabetical Dreams” serves as an intermission in the middle of the manuscript, comprising alphabetized lines from dream journals. Verb Gazelle blends the child and adult experience to create striking, autofictional juxtapositions as trauma interacts with innocence, neurodiversity, and lifelong play to develop strengthened autonomy.