JAMES HOUSTON ARTS

  • PENPAL LETTERS

    PENPAL LETTERS You have to have oneTo write oneYou have to write oneTo have one A fountain pen rulesBallpoint sufficesGraphite, finger paint, crayonFelt-tipped markerCalligraphy, typewriterInk pads & letter stampsScrapbooking, graphic artMagazine & newspaper clippingsAdhered like old movie ransom notesFair game, all Affix a stampAnd walk itTo the corner boxIt’s worth the paperYou printed it onAnd…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • APOTROPAIC

    In my childhoodThere was a proliferationOf Lucky Rabbit’s FeetStocked near the postcard rackAt Woolworth’s Five & DimeAnd Kresge’s StoresDown past the lunch counterThe egg salad, the BLT’sAnd Breakfast-Served-All-DayA few aisles over where you couldScent the powders and perfumesFrom the Notions Department Ferruled and hungOn a snake chain in a binNext to the beaded beltsLettered “Niagara…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • LATE BEETHOVEN

    What if all the soundYou ever heard existedAs a memory © jameshoustonarts 2025 The above senryu was sourced from three experiences: Listening to a National Public Radio (NPR) program, I heard a segment of a weekly piece called From the Top where the host performs a classical piece of music with young musicians/composers, usually aged…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • INDIFFERENCE

    INDIFFERENCE The letters of loveAre spread overLandscapes in bannersOf shimmered paint Bashed away with stick and ballAgainst walls of resistanceAs if it could everBe forced or tamed Counted and discountedWith each plucked petalFrom unfortunate flowersUntil none is left to reconcile * * * * * While the flurriedHaunt of hate in diaphanousHood with liquid gazeFrequents…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • “STREET” FEATURE

    I have, previously, made reference to my association with the Vancouver Street Photography Collective (VANSPC). Since my introduction and subsequent membership over the last two-plus years, I have been challenged by this genre in photography. I very much enjoy making images of landscapes, architecture and creating travel journals using photography… but, “Street” requires more than…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • THE FLIGHTING SPIRIT

    The various segments in flying on a commercial airline involve a systemic narrowing; from the world-at large to airport concourse, security queues, gate corridors, boarding ramps and, finally, that sub-middling aisle to the smaller squeeze of a slender and assigned seat. By the time one is strapped in, all spacial identity is reduced to a…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • IN THE MORNING, EARLY

    Should you doubt that the dawnCan cleanse and clear your eyesSpit into your open palmAnd render light your promisesThat the air breathes for youAnd beats your heart as surelyIf you doubt the dawn lacks these truthsCome with meIn the morning, early © jameshoustonarts 2024

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • UNTIL I NO LONGER DESIRED TO TURN AWAY

    Can a camera save a life? I believe this to be true Photography, it is said shutters something away and seldom ever gives back Cultures exist whereby beliefs determine entire souls disappear down those optic tunnels And, should the image meet subject matter in its focal point and its depth of field it may not…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • STAGE FRIGHT

    Tomorrow afternoon, I will be standing in front of a group of Street Photographers from VANSPC (the Vancouver Street Photography Collective), an organization with whom I have been a member since October, 2022. Three images that I submitted will be projected up on a screen and I will be speaking to them. I have never…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • SUNSET, SUNRISE

    Sunsets are chasedSunrises are fledForward in the first instanceBack-pedalled in the second If one is singularIn mind and deedAnd wishes to prolongEither experience © jameshoustonarts 2025

    JAMES HOUSTON