JULIEN MADDOX

Despite its format, “Dialogue” isn’t meant to be read out loud because you are supposed to feel like you’re intruding on this intimate moment between the two speakers. It also deals a lot with
isolation and sort of feeling disconnected from the people around you, and in a weird way, that’s what drew me to a community space like The Lounge. In choosing to read “Dialogue,” you’re choosing to literally stand in front of this poem and exist in this sense of intimacy and isolation, but you’re also doing it in a place where, when you’re done, you can make the choice to turn away and reengage with your community.