Speaking in first and second
a four years in the making poetry project
What did your March look like? sound like? taste like?
I want to show you what the Month of March was like for the last four years.
Beginning with this transcribed poem note from March 19th, 2022.
Hobbies drive my life Hobbies drive me We are naturally drawn to her unseemly indecent
And this one, from the same day, but from a conversation with someone else:
I've experienced that before. I've had that happen too. Ten years ago, we couldn't access foreign TV shows or movies very easily. I always respond with the same answer. What was that called...?
For the last four years, I documented almost every conversation between my adult Japanese students and I.
The notes and sentences presented in this project have been extracted from thousands of transcribed conversations that occurred over the course of four years. What you’re reading is part translation, reiteration, correction, or suggestion that has been modified into a poem. Each piece is representative of one conversation had with that student on that day.
There are over 500 student record files dated from January 12th, 2019 to December 29th, 2022. Each record contains anywhere from one conversation to four years of conversations. The notes have been edited: sometimes altered in places—but the spirit of creative nonfiction remains. Anonymous by default, the intention of presenting and editing this large body of work is to show the blur, lilt, and grasp that Person, Place, Time, and Thing has on Pulse. Fractions of personal life, thoughts and words of the people I was talking to and translating with—now poems.
Project title:
speaking in first and second :
conversations from January 12th, 2019 — December 29th, 2022.
listen below for a brief audio introduction of this poetry project. you may notice that the audio is slightly different from the above text. some details have been omitted, some added. “edited.” “altered.” “documented.”
March 5th, 2022
I heard sirens.
It had been a long time.
I really want to talk about it.
I really want to tell you about it.
In my opinion, it's the best movie of the year.
digression / digress / I digress
積んでおく つんでおく tsundeoku to pile up
to pile
upMarch 7th, 2019 I haven't spoken in English for a long time. My New Year's Resolution is related to my job. requests 依頼 Last year, I accepted requests from clients, and played for them. This year, I want to do something different.
March 12th, 2020
I have two weeks off from work because of the coronavirus.
I'm used to it. / I don't feel as worried as before.
They haven't decided yet.
unemployed means NEET
It was good that we broke up, I did the right thing.
I got closure
I did the right thing by leaving him
I let him borrow my textbook.
He heard from a friend,
a friend told him 
March 12th, 2022
It's made of plastic.
So, it's a low maintenance plant.
My mother-in-law grows tulips.March 16th, 2022 There was a lot of preparation that went into the stakeholder’s meeting... I am very tired from working. ...Do you get spring allergies? Does hay fever bother you? I'm considering going skiing... I have a house near the Yatsugatake mountains. I feel cheerful when I see Mt.Fuji. It cheers me up because it represents "the Japanese spirit." representative 代表的に だいひょうてきに daihyouteki ni There are many areas in Japan that have street names called "Fujimidori." 富士見通り ふじみどおり fujimidori Fujimidori means "from the road, you can see Mt.Fuji." Nowadays, most places called "Fujimidori" cannot see Mt.Fuji anymore. The pollen is a big factor. (A big deciding factor) I am very, very tired.
March 21st, 2019
different
Make a difference means to make changes / to have an impact on the world
____ different
good different
sakura's creative value is a different kind of different March 26th, 2019
There are seven people.
We will have lunch together and then see the cherry blossoms.
On Sunday, I drove my parents to the cemetery to see the graves.
March 30th, 2021 errands I'm having a coffee. I was kind of sad when I turned 30. He drove across the country, it took four days.
speaking in first and second will be shared again next month, in April, though some entries will be behind the paywall. Consider becoming a paying subscriber to digest all of Swallow and its projects.
a form for
those
in the Month of March
Instructions: copy and paste the text below into a blank document. delete the blank spaces and replace them with answers of your own.
In the Month of March, I am _________.
It’s a ________ feeling.
If I could ________ I would ________.
The colors are: ________, ________, and ________.
I don’t know about ________, or ________, but I do know _________________.
My question for the last day of March is “________________________?”
Because I want to know ________________________________.
If you’re feeling brave, I would love to see your answers. I’ll be sharing my own via IG later today: March 31st, 2023. JP time.
and lastly,
an invitation
I invite readers to submit their notes from the month of April (of any year). They can be journal entries, messages, thoughts you wrote down on your phone (or in your journal), photos, drawings, recordings, little nothings—I want to collage with you. You can send them to me by subscribing and responding to Swallow’s email, which goes directly to my inbox. If possible, try to include the date your artifact was made or taken. Thank you for being here, and I look forward to hearing from you :’)
Swallow is a documentation project that was born in Tokyo on March 25th, 2022. After today, audio narration and some entries with poetry (similar to this one) will be nestled behind a paywall. Paid subscribers are granted full access to Swallow and all of its mediums, projects, and receive the newsletter more frequently. It’s like when you crack an egg and get the full yolk (and keep the broken egg shells).
From someone who has taught a foreign language for 50 years, I love how you have woven all of those conversation together, intermingling your photos. Your creativity is endless!!!
BRILLIANT!!!