Her poetry and short story collection, 10 For Everything, is available from Orange Ocean Press. Her writing (poetry and fiction) also appears in journals such as Eclipse, Permafrost, Coe Review, Sou’wester, GW Review, Quiddity, and Lalitamba. You can find her work in anthologies including A Poet’s Haggadah, Word Warriors from Seal Press, His Rib from Penmanship Press, and Knocking at the Door from Birch Bench Press.
She has two albums, Ptolemaic Complex and Word to the WHY?S, and collaborates with producers such as End.User, Tack-Fu, and conductor/composer Gee Gee Gallegos.
She’s performed her poetry with artists like daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra, Sage Francis, Saul Williams, and Rahzel, at venues such as Disney Concert Hall, Royce Hall, The Broad Stage, The San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, and the Vans Warped Tour.
Her work has received accolades from the James Kirkwood Fiction Awards (short story), Writer’s Digest Short-Short Story Awards (micro-fiction), LA Weekly Awards (best supporting actress) Backstage West Garland Awards Critic's Picks (best supporting actress) and both the audio and video award for the International Slam Idol (poetry).
Rachel was commissioned by The Broad Stage to write and perform a contemporary retelling of Peter Pan from Tinker Bell's perspective, accompanied by Maestra Rachael Worby's 18-piece orchestra, Muse/Ique.
Rachel's music video, created with collaborator and choreographer Keith Johnson, "Lie Down Beside You," has received screenings at the 4 The Camera Film Festival and Landlocked Film Festival.
Rachel was invited to perform her poetry at TEDx UCLA and in Flight 18 (where she was the DJ and Dance Captain as well) at 3LD Technology in New York City.
She teaches poetry and fiction workshops through the Writers' Program at UCLA Extension.
Perspective
Rachel Kann Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Impossible perspective
That is the human condition
And this is that shifting
Impossible perspective
That is the human condition
In variegated stages of
The multiplicity of ways
By uninvited men
Holding out handshakes full of
Agendas and screenplays or
I'm so close I can see the faces of the snipers on the side of the freeway or
Doorless rooms
Air heavy with the cool spun glass
Electical satin of fog
Clogging my lung passages with anthrax and
Does it really matter that my stature is completely out of hand to mouth existence
And that I am so far out of touch with my internal needs
That I can't even remember the feeling of hungry?
Or anything?
Why scrutinize my own life when it's all just relative
On the spectrum of
Perception?
And this is that shifting
Impossible perspective
That is the human condition
And this is that shifting
Impossible perspective
That is the human condition
I reside like we all do inside my own
Mythology
I can say I completely failed at
Said intended eventuality or I can
Flip the script and
Simply claim that
Another path
Both smack of insincerity
Leaving me liquified more fluidity than history
I can't with any degree of certainty even give you a concrete map of what led me to this microphone
Right here
Right now
Trembling with
Too much truth
Memory is as objective as the inconstant moon
As we gaze at our own reflection or
An earful of our own
Vocal Projection
And this is that shifting
Impossible perspective
That is the human condition
And this is that shifting
Impossible perspective
That is the human condition
Are inverted paradoxes
With the light shining in
Contained in our skin
Sweet little packages of magic that can't unwrap themselves
But I'm trying to
For me and you
I'm tryna confide in me and you that we are beautiful
Tryna remind me and you that we can only ever be truly safe in this Temporary luminous universe of
Helium balloons and illusions
Are human beings
Simply Earthlings existing
This mortals coiled like childish live wire tryna unravel rapture
Delivering little scriptures full of penniless potential
Filling fountains with thousands of wishes
One cent to this planet with the fact of
Struggles to overcome and
Even with all the varying degrees of lucidity surrounding me
We still can at the very least agree that
This is where we are
And this is when we be
And even you thinking that that doesn't really mean anything
It really fucking means something to me you know
And I want to give you that single sentence that
Gets us all sentience
And this is that shifting
And this is that shifting
I wish I could pull it down to a word or
Better yet one letter
Impossible perspective
Possible perspective
Or even more so just a moan or
An intake of breath like
But you can never
Is the human condition
Even subatomic particles change their behavior
Under our observation
And here am I tryna capture life like butterflies
And this is that shifting
Impossible perspective
That is the human condition
And I only do it
Because I love you.
In this song, Rachel Kann explores the shifting and impossible perspective that is the human condition. She describes the various forms this perspective takes, from the multiplicity of ways we experience sleep to the uninvited men holding out handshakes full of agendas and screenplays. She also touches on the relative nature of our perception, reminding us that scrutinizing our own lives can be futile when everything we experience is just relative.
Kann then delves deeper into her own mythology, grappling with the insincerity of claiming either success or failure in our intended events, ultimately leaving her feeling liquified and unable to truly map out the steps that led her to this very moment. She reflects on the subjective nature of memory and how even our own vocal projections can deceive us.
Throughout the song, Kann emphasizes the beauty and magic of human beings, who exist as sweet little packages of magic that can’t unwrap themselves. She reminds us that even though we exist as mortal beings, we are still capable of rapture and delivering little scriptures full of penniless potential.
Ultimately, Kann argues that the shifting and impossible perspective that is the human condition is worth exploring and trying to capture, even if it is like trying to capture butterflies. She does it all because she loves us.
Line by Line Meaning
And this is that shifting
The state of continuous change and instability
Impossible perspective
The seemingly unattainable viewpoint and understanding of the world and ourselves
That is the human condition
That is the nature of being human
Close my eyes to sleep
The act of closing one's eyes to rest
In variegated stages of
In different and diverse phases of
The multiplicity of ways
The vast number of possibilities and paths
By uninvited men
By unknown and unwelcome men
Holding out handshakes full of
Offering hands to shake, but with hidden intentions
Agendas and screenplays or
Hidden motives or scripts
I'm so close I can see the faces of the snipers on the side of the freeway or
Being in a dangerous and threatening situation
Doorless rooms
Rooms with no doors or exits
Air heavy with the cool spun glass
Air filled with a dense and cold fog
Electical satin of fog
The silky and shimmering quality of the fog
Clogging my lung passages with anthrax and
The feeling of suffocation or being overwhelmed
Does it really matter that my stature is completely out of hand to mouth existence
Does it really matter that I am living hand to mouth?
And that I am so far out of touch with my internal needs
That I don't even know what I need
That I can't even remember the feeling of hungry?
That I don't even remember what it feels like to be hungry
Or anything?
Or anything else for that matter
Why scrutinize my own life when it's all just relative
Why bother examining my own life when everything is subjective?
On the spectrum of
On the range of possibilities
Perception?
Perception and understanding
I reside like we all do inside my own
We all live within our own subjective realities
Mythology
Our own personalized stories and beliefs
I can say I completely failed at
I can say that I didn't succeed in
Said intended eventuality or I can
The intended outcome or goal
Flip the script and
Change the perspective and interpretation
Simply claim that
To assert that
Another path
An alternative route
Both smack of insincerity
Both seem inauthentic
Leaving me liquified more fluidity than history
Leaving me feeling unstable and ungrounded
I can't with any degree of certainty even give you a concrete map of what led me to this microphone
I can't even explain with certainty how I ended up here
Right here
In this present moment
Right now
At this exact moment
Trembling with
With a feeling of uncertainty and instability
Too much truth
An overwhelming amount of honesty
Memory is as objective as the inconstant moon
Memory is not objective or stable, it changes like the moon phases
As we gaze at our own reflection or
As we look inward at ourselves
An earful of our own
A full understanding of ourselves
Vocal Projection
The act of projecting one's voice or thoughts outward
Are inverted paradoxes
Are contradictory and unexpected situations
With the light shining in
Amidst the brightness and clarity
Contained in our skin
Our existence and experiences confined within our bodies
Sweet little packages of magic that can't unwrap themselves
We are unique and magical beings, but we cannot discover our own magic
But I'm trying to
But I am attempting to
For me and you
For myself and others
I'm tryna confide in me and you that we are beautiful
I am trying to share the realization that we are all beautiful
Tryna remind me and you that we can only ever be truly safe in this Temporary luminous universe of
Reminding us that we can only be truly safe in this temporary and fleeting world
Helium balloons and illusions
Flimsy and unrealistic symbols of happiness and hope
Are human beings
We are all humans
Simply Earthlings existing
Simply existing on this planet as humans
This mortals coiled like childish live wire tryna unravel rapture
We are all mortal and trying to find a way to enjoy life
Delivering little scriptures full of penniless potential
Offering messages of hope and possibility with little to show for it
Filling fountains with thousands of wishes
Expecting and hoping for a better future
One cent to this planet with the fact of
A small contribution to this planet with the knowledge that
Struggles to overcome
Challenges to conquer and move past
And
Additionally
Even with all the varying degrees of lucidity surrounding me
Despite the level of understanding and clarity I have
We still can at the very least agree that
We can all agree that, at the very least
This is where we are
This is our current location, position, and state
And this is when we be
This is the time of our existence
And even you thinking that that doesn't really mean anything
And even if you believe that this has no significance
It really fucking means something to me you know
It means a lot to me, you understand?
And I want to give you that single sentence that
I want to impart to you that one piece of information that
Gets us all sentience
Would give us all a sense of consciousness and awareness
I wish I could pull it down to a word or
If only it could be reduced to a single word
Better yet one letter
Or even a solitary letter
Possible perspective
An achievable and understandable viewpoint
Or even more so just a moan or
Or even just a sound or utterance
An intake of breath like
A deep breath, inhale
But you can never
But that is impossible
Is the human condition
That is the nature of being human
Even subatomic particles change their behavior
Even on the quantum level, things are constantly changing
Under our observation
As we look upon them
And here am I tryna capture life like butterflies
Attempting to understand and experience life like capturing butterflies in a jar
And I only do it
I only engage in this pursuit
Because I love you.
Because of my love for all of humanity
Contributed by Leah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.