The 2019 Online Issue Two
Memory Ephemeris (a constellation)
Megan Spiegel
Ephemeris, n. /ɪˈfɛmərɪs/ – from Latin ephēmeris, Greek ἐϕημερίς: diary. A compendium listing the positions of notable celestial objects by date; may be used in navigation, divination.
Telescope
Date: Summer 2001 through Winter 2002
Location: 43.453946, -124.276394
The way light is gathered in, brought close—not as close as she hoped—but enough to resolve into clarity, to separate into multiples—pointillist star clusters, or the smear of nebulae.
The way she learns to aim the telescope by removing the eyepiece and inserting a flashlight, its narrow beam reflecting outward to pinpoint extrasolar objects, a spotlight into deep distance
Telescope
Date: Summer 2001 through Winter 2002
Location: 43.453946, -124.276394
The way light is gathered in, brought close—not as close as she hoped—but enough to resolve into clarity, to separate into multiples—pointillist star clusters, or the smear of nebulae.
The way she learns to aim the telescope by removing the eyepiece and inserting a flashlight, its narrow beam reflecting outward to pinpoint extrasolar objects, a spotlight into deep distance
The way she learns the patterns of the stars—their names, references, mythology: Antares, dark heart of Scorpio, low in the southern summer sky. The triangle, Vega, Deneb, Altair. Orion in the clear winter. Talismans, markers of passage season to season—she locates them to position herself in space, in the cycle of time.
Megan Spiegel is the author of Luminance (2019, Dancing Girl Press). She is a graduate of the multi-genre MFA program at Western Washington University, and serves as Hybrid Genre Editor at Psaltery & Lyre. Her poetry, prose, and collaborative work has appeared in various print and online journals, such as Ghost Proposal, Vinyl, Sweet, and Fugue. She lives with her family and makes things in the Pacific Northwest.
About the work: “My work combines elements of poetry, essay, and visual art, and takes various forms. The attached submission is a work of memoir in the form of lyric essay or prose poetry. It includes dates and GPS coordinates, allowing the essay to be mapped. (If you are interested in a Google Maps version of this work, it exists but is not public. You can request access if you would like to see it.) All diagrams and illustrations included in the essay come from public domain sources, and each speaks to the segment it accompanies.”
About the work: “My work combines elements of poetry, essay, and visual art, and takes various forms. The attached submission is a work of memoir in the form of lyric essay or prose poetry. It includes dates and GPS coordinates, allowing the essay to be mapped. (If you are interested in a Google Maps version of this work, it exists but is not public. You can request access if you would like to see it.) All diagrams and illustrations included in the essay come from public domain sources, and each speaks to the segment it accompanies.”
The Art
Associated with "Camera Obscura" from Megan Spiegel's "Memory Ephemeris" collected prose poems. The drawing itself is from
