Mesmerized by Arlo Parks Collapsed in Sunbeams? Well, so are we. Park’s debut album considers a psychological approach to loneliness while painting a colorful narrative of healing and redemption. However, within this textured tale, there lies a diamond in the ruff, and that happens to be Park’s entrance poem.
Given the album’s name “Collapsed in Sunbeams,” Parks has instantly let us into her mind and soul. The poem’s simple narrative foreshadows the tales of heartbreak and self-reflection. With every poetic line, we are indulged in the themes and lyrics of the songs to come and are brought to a visual world.
As we are let into the album’s gates, the structure of Park’s spoken word is the first, and only time, we hear her, due to the album’s predominant usage of 3rd person. Her self structured statements of “I see myself ablaze with joy” or “You shouldn’t be afraid to cry in front of me” are the overarching window into Park’s position in the album.
Parks self-placement is an understandable nod to the point that Collapsed in Sunbeams is not only the tale of her own journey, but a tie to the challenges and experiences plaguing Gen Z, and how she is interconnected.
Parks told NPR, “when I first tried my hand at poetry, it all seemed to revolve around escapism, Hollywood fantasy, moving off the grid or falling in love.” Park’s poetry is still a reflection of her original escapism, however, as the singer has evolved her craft, her poetic works began to take a shape of their own, and originate to revolve around the tones of her music. The intertwining of the two truly allows for Parks to execute an immediate intimacy, when revealed in her poem “Collapsed in Sunbeams.”
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