Zephyr

About Zephyr 

Zephyr is an interactive poem grounded in the landscapes of the Lake Tahoe basin. The reader moves through the piece from the perspective of the wind, specifically a cold mountain breeze that travels through the Sierra Nevada and across the lake. The narrative follows that movement through pine forests marked by fire and regrowth, down granite passes, and over the surface of the water. The project is anchored in a specific place and in the physical forces that shape it: cold air, burn scars, uneven recovery, and the coexistence of life and death. Rather than imposing a fixed interpretation, the piece is more interested in tracing movement through the landscape and attending to revelations as they come.

How to read it 

The piece is best read slowly and without a predetermined destination. The blue links function as the points of interaction. Some paths loop back to earlier passages, while others shift in tone depending on the route taken to reach them. A single pass will not reveal every ending. Repetition is therefore part of the intended experience. Following what seems most compelling will be more productive than searching for a correct path.

What I hope you take away 

I hope the piece encourages a sharper attention to place and to the forces that move through it. The winds of the Sierra Nevada are powerful and often harsh, but here they move through the landscape without intervening, observing without resolving it. I hope the reader leaves doing something similar, albeit with an improved quality of attention.

Reflections 

This project began with a place rather than a plot. I was initially reflecting on my time spent in Lake Tahoe over many years of living nearby. Twine was well-suited to the non-linear way I approached this piece. Regarding the lake and the surrounding areas, I hope you can visit one day and experience their beauty.