DURHAM, Jimmie
PoesiePoems

The man who loves blue flowers
Walks
Over the land that holds us.

He is crying
He is crying

The man who loves red flowers
Walks
Over the land that holds us.

He is calling
He is calling

Artist, poet, performer, essayist, and activist, Jimmie Durham (1940–2021) was one of the most radical and unpredictable figures in international art of the past fifty years. His work unsettles established categories within European and North American culture and deconstructs codified images and symbols, revealing the mechanisms that sustain dominant cultural systems. With sharp humor, Durham introduces fractures into language and systems of knowledge, opening up unexpected spaces for thought. PoesiePoems presents a selection of poems drawn from Durham’s three collections – Columbus Day (1983), Poems That Do Not Go Together (2012), and Particle/Word Theory (2020), enriched with previously unpublished texts and drawings from the artist’s archive. [publishers’ note]

Bilingual English / Italian, perché sai che Durham viveva a Napoli, si? Traduzione di Sacha Piersanti.

Published by Nero, 2026
Anthologies / Poetry / Indigenous Peoples