The space between us

A wanting unresolved, a longing, a lusting, for that which cannot, must not, be. A fire which fuels me, is me, was me, and endangers me still. One flicker away from ash, and another from conflagration. I hope that as the pages turn, and time ticks by, the desire so stagnant in me floods each word with meaning and secret messaging. This text shall begin to pick away at the debris left by Us, and others - a timeless topic for a feeling without time. I hope that the conflict, the battle that surges in each fold of my work, finds resolution here. For a flame can forge as well as burn.

A flame can be a beautiful thing, can't it?

Lilian Evans’ masters thesis, The space between us - Desire in practice: A narrative of four lovers in the telling of my work, ‘would i still be your lover? if it all went wrong’- explores the nature of desire through the fusing of poetic and academic writing, bringing together the words of four lovers Emily Dickinson, Taylor Swift, Anne Carson and Lilian Evans. Through the imbedding of their words with hers, this text acts as a bridge of time periods, mediums and personal narratives to unpack what it means to want, possess and long for a beloved. Through the narrative of Evans’ work would i still be your lover? if it all went wrong, and its personification, this text contains three letters, The lover, The beloved and The space between, to examine what comes with desire, and that which comes after. This essay was made as an exploration of sorts, to delve into Evans’ practice and the practice of others, in hopes understanding what comes next. Through framing her practice within Anne Carson’s triangular structure of desire (The lover, The beloved and The space between) Evans seeks to understand what it truly means to be a lover – something which she has always been, and acted upon, but never truly understood its significance.

link to full thesis