POETRY: A Devotion to Roy DeCarava

His photographs are an extension of his personality. And by that I mean he made photographs that incarnate the peculiar, the infinite, the illusory, and the contradictory nuances of his particular being. This type of picture-making--creative photography--wherein metaphor, emotional depth, fixation on one's own inner world, transformation of the outer reality, and yes, self-importance, does not come easy and certain should not be taken for granted. To commit oneself to that which is unknown, to that which is not yet formed, requires imperishable faith...and patience, which is knowing, coupled with a good healthy flourish of extravagance and a relenless sense of purpose. As fundamental as the eventual dawn of the season's first daffodil or the inevitable and consequent death of the cycle's last morning glory.

Roy DeCarava, 1919-2009

A Devotion to Roy DeCarava (spoken word version)