“Close your eyes. Imagine a place where you can put all your troubles in and let them go.” That is what Andi Kopek’s therapist told him in a consult. And there, in a therapist’s office, “Shmehara” was born. 

Kopek is an interdisciplinary artist and poet born in socialist Poland. He traveled around Europe before finally moving to the United States in his 20s. He identifies as a “citizen of the universe.” 

Kopek said wanted to give the mental space he had just created a unique name, knowing it was meant to hold heavy memories. After not finding any words in the English vocabulary that could hold a strong meaning, the poet decided to create his own word. 

“Because it was a special place, it needed a special name,” Kopek said.

He combined the phonetic “sh” from the Sanskrit word “ikshana” (to look after) with the phonetic “me” from the Indo-European root, meaning to remember, and “dhara” (to remember), also from Sanskrit. “Shmehara.” To look after a memory, a flow of steam. 

“I saw a safe space — a healing space. I saw a stream flowing next to me I could put the memories and it would flow in the stream,” Kopek said.

As he explored this new space more, he said found the words came out as a poem. 

“I realized I was always a poet but it was suppressed,” Kopek said. “So I wrote more poems.”

The recollection of poems includes his journey through healing and his own identity as a Polish and Ukrainian man.

Not only does he delve into his roots with his writing, but some of the proceeds from the book go directly to a Polish foundation to provide counseling to victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

Kopek said he is interested in seeing how his words impact other people, which is why he reached out to other artists to illustrate his poems rather than doing it himself. Every poem is accompanied by an illustration by an artist from almost every continent.

Kopek said that the coronavirus pandemic influenced him to add animations to the anthology.

“Some wine bottles have QR codes with little animations, so that inspired me to have animations in every poem,” Kopek said.

That’s when he met Tyler Lustek, an associate lecturer in the UW-Eau Claire jazz department. 

“I was playing solo piano before and after a poetry reading,” Lustek said. 

Having nothing to do after his first set, Lustek said he decided to stay and listen to the presentation. Kopek projected his poems on screens as he orated them. 

“I saw music coming off the page,” Lustek said. “I could see how particular lines could be turned into a melody.”

When the poetry reading was done, Tyler approached Kopek with the proposal to add music to his poems and Kopek agreed.

“I never expected when I was writing my book to connect poetry and jazz,” Kopek said.

The collection then includes a foreword by Andi Kopek and an illustrator’s note.  With each illustration, there is a QR code that plays an animation with music sounding in the background. 

The degree to which the music reflects the words varies, according to Lustek. While some pieces were written to match each note to the words, some are more playful and include more improvisation. 

Lustek said about writing a piece for a poem about artificial intelligence. The professor used a random 12-toned rose created by Google AI as a base for the poem’s melody, proving the artist’s point that AI can help society work in a more productive way.

Lustek said that his band is composed of many of his friends and coworkers, making it a “knockout ensemble.” The jazz codirector described his group as a “friend group” and said the audience could hear the friendship in the songs. 

“It’s really powerful to hear that side of themselves,” Lustek said.

Kopek said he praised this selection of musicians, describing Tyler as an “exceptional and talented musician.”

The anthology will be previewed on Oct 10 at the 2 Roots Gallery in downtown Eau Claire.  

The show starts at 7 p.m. and will include live music by Lusktek, Kopek reciting his poems, and a talk by the poet “Dancing with serendipity.” 

“I will also be performing, so I feel like another instrument,” Kopek said. “The presentation will be unique, very exciting. We’ll create something amazing.”

Orozco can be reached at [email protected].