The poem My trembling candle is a selection of visual poems by J.I. (Judy) Kleinberg. The exhibit features framed original collages, about 4.25” x 5.5”, as well as enlargements in several sizes.

The work in The poem My trembling candle touches on both the physical and the metaphorical. Doors seem to open on possibility as often as they open into rooms or houses. Light and shadow interplay in mood and spirit. Birds (tap-dancing with cardinals) cavort in an abbreviated syntax that Kleinberg describes as “somewhere between Dada and Twitter, between ransom note and haiku.”

Some, like the title poem – discovered in the shadow / death a new language, / dark and avid / The poem My trembling candle – seem to express the poet’s doubt and vulnerability, while others find a sort of sly humor in observations of daily life -- found story. / the fridge in love with / the rump of the table. / the rebellious stove / dazzled by The artful knife.

Supplied with her raw materials by the free-magazine bin in the local library, Kleinberg looks for places where words stack up to reveal new meaning through the happenstance of magazine page design. She tears out these text fragments and lets them “shuffle around on my work table until they begin talking with one other.” Each collage is made up of two to six such fragments, which are arranged in a cascade that seems to float on its soft green background.

About the Artist
A Los Angeles native and a long-time resident of Bellingham, Washington, J.I. (Judy) Kleinberg is an artist, poet, and freelance writer whose poetry has appeared in print and online journals and anthologies worldwide. Her chapbooks include The Word for Standing Alone in a Field (Bottlecap, 2023), how to pronounce the wind (Paper View, 2023), Desire’s Authority (Ravenna Triple Series No. 23, 2023), and Sleeping Lessons (Milk & Cake, 2025). A full-length collection of visual poems, She needs the river (Poem Atlas) was published in 2024, and All of we is forthcoming from Anhinga Press. More at chocolate is a verb and on Instagram @jikleinberg.