On Wednesday, April 16, local arts and culture journal fsm. held a vibrant performance of music and poetry featuring Lawrence juniors Billy Greene and Eli Orion with local poet Chloé Allyn acting as MC and sharing poems of her own. The event, entitled “Breathing Room,” took place at fsm.’s Konsthus — which translates to “art house” in Swedish — and is part of a monthly series of poetry readings and musical performances hosted by Allyn under the name “Only Child.” In attendance were a mix of Lawrence students, faculty and community members sharing a passion for the arts.
Breathing Room kicked off with Billy Greene reading a collection of poems inspired by their recent experiences with travel and studying abroad. Featuring dramatic use of various poetic structures and a vibrant delivery style, Greene’s poetry captured the ephemeral essence of life on the road. “Because of the fleeting nature of not only these places, but also their people, I take to writing to ground the varying degrees of intimacy and connection I felt [in those moments],” Greene told me. Accompanied by snaps of approval and the shuffling of papers, the collection provided a window into Greene’s life, showcasing their experiences through vignettes dealing with gender identity, the liminality of airport security, romantic and platonic relationships and long train rides.
Next, Eli Orion took the stage, announcing, “I’m going to play two covers, at the beginning and the end, and I’ll play some songs that I wrote in the middle.” With a flurry of acoustic guitar fingerpicking, he launched into a stripped-down version of LCD Soundsystem’s “Someone Great,” turning an originally electronic song into a reflective expression of loss with the repeated lyric “It keeps coming ‘til the day it stops” evoking the never-quite-ending nature of grief. From here, Orion seamlessly transitioned into five original songs, including his recent releases “Wilt” and “Stable.” Much like his cover of “Someone Great,” he adapted his oftentimes electronic and dissonant tracks to the intimate environment, filling the room with his haunting, nostalgic falsetto. Flowing from one song into the next, only pausing to retune his guitar, Orion took the Konsthus on an emotional journey that felt simultaneously polished and raw.
The final performance of the Breathing Room was local poet and artist Chloé Allyn, who read a collection of poems from their various publications, packets and unbound books. Allyn’s poetry dealt with Midwest life, adolescence and relationships, weaving a picture of life in Appleton with farm fields, suburban architecture and a healthy dose of bong smoke. In addition to her poetry, Allyn promoted her work as Only Child, where she works to bring together artists in the Appleton area. Allyn’s projects include literary journal “The Bastard’s Review,” which consists of poetry, visual art and short literary vignettes from a wide assortment of contributors.
fsm.’s Breathing Room was “calming and meditative, and a chance to break out of the ‘Lawrence bubble’ into a different performance atmosphere,” said junior Finn Thornton, audience member. For the attendees, the Konsthus served as a necessary relief from the hustle and bustle of daily life, providing a physical space to catch our collective breath. As Greene put it, “The Konsthus is a pretty radical apparatus to share creative work of any kind. Speaking to your own experience and having a place to do so is a needed respite and reaction in the current political moment. It’s vital we encourage the development of these spaces, so keep on comin’ to Breathing Room!”