Two People — A Collaboration with Joe Chamberlain

A few months ago, I got an idea wormed into my head that I could not let go of; what if two writers constructed a conversation stanza by stanza, without knowing what the next person will bring to the table? The only thing you know, is both of you are writing as characters who desperately seek something from the other. 

The first person to come to mind to consult for such a project was, of course, one of my dearest friends Joe Chamberlain. We met studying at Bennington College, and quickly bonded over our love of religion, life, and words. I once told him my prose is in love with your prose. I wasn't kidding, either. 

Without a further ado, I very proudly present the first writing collaboration between Joe and me which we have named Two People.

Brandi Ocasio featured on the left                                Joe Chamberlain featured on the right

Joe Chamberlain is a visual artist and writer from Los Angeles, California who is interested in collecting, in what the act of noticing and deciding to keep something, be that a physical object or something you overheard someone say, tells us about love, devotion, obsession, shared narrative and connection. His ink and brush drawings are stark and personal, using dramatic, contrasting light and shadow to draw out the emotional and sometimes physical tension of the photographs he collects. His writing, which often appears alongside his drawings, is confessional, specific, and oftentimes uncomfortable, interested in forcing you, through the act of looking, reading, consuming, into the role of unwilling voyeur.