Vincent Caruso
“I want to lead the viewer from a very domestic moment to the in-dwelling death of sleep I feel happens, all most comfortably.”
Vincent Caruso
Editor’s Note: “Sleep” was originally delivered to Technoculture as a PowerPoint presentation (as noted below). For convenience to our readers and with the poet’s permission, we have converted “Sleep” to a QuickTime Video using the “Save as Movie” option built into PowerPoint. None of the functionality of the poem was lost in the conversion. We have archived the original version (pptx) on our site for those interested in seeing how Mr. Caruso has built “Sleep.”
Vincent Caruso writes:
I am much indebted to the idea of using PowerPoint as a means and outlet for my poetry to my professor at University of Miami, Walter K. Lew. He showed me that poetry could be not only cinematic, but have a broad definition. That poetry, perhaps, comes from the poet in his or her technique and medium, not just from words on a page. PowerPoint is one of the mediums I am experimenting with, to reach the audience.
In “Sleep,” I try to go beyond the reproduction of falling asleep to the TV and into the unconsciousness; however, me personally, I rarely remember dreams, so to me there is a sort of connection between death and sleep. In other words, I want to lead the viewer from a very domestic moment to the in-dwelling death of sleep I feel happens, all most comfortably. As always, such as with the ending, I like open interpretation.
Vincent Caruso graduated last year from the University of Miami’s MFA program, focusing on poetry. Nowadays, he works as a freelance writer and publishes here and there. Originally, he was from Wheeling, West Virginia, and has bounced around the US most of his life.
“Sleep,” © 2012 Vincent Caruso, used by permission
