As winter continues to make the city grey and miserable and you turn to doom scrolling social media in the next few weeks, you might notice videos of poetry accompanied by shots of local nature. 12 Weeks of Bliss is a project by Peterborough poet PJ Thomas featuring videography by Mari Ya, music by Rick Fines, and post-production by Laurel Paluck. The videos are short 1-2 minutes of Thomas’s poetry over top of short clips by Mari Ya, accompanied by musical stings by Fines. 

Thomas describes 12 Weeks of Bliss as “an idea to put together some wonderful components into a whole.” She brought together a group of artists she greatly admires to work together on this project, saying “I got my first picks.” In particular, Thomas is very excited by Mari Ya’s videography. “The videos are beautiful, they reset my nervous system.” 

All of the artists were chosen for this project because they had worked with Thomas before and she wanted to find another project to bring them together. Throughout our discussion, Thomas could not stop singing the praises of the other artists on the project. She is also interested in the use of social media for the presentation of the videos, saying it is a “brave new frontier” that she is excited to explore with this project. 

The videos are calming scenes of nature, focused on a single moment and all the small details. Whether it’s the structure of snowflakes or ripples on a pond at sunset, they make you pause and think about all the little things. 

Mari Ya reiterated this in our conversation, saying, “Nature is magical, and it is out there, wherever you are. Even if you are in a big city there’s always birds, some trees here and there.” Her videos focus on these small pieces of nature that are all around us and remind us that “nature is always there for you if you want to reach out for it.” 

Thomas’s poetry reflects this as well, using imagery of the natural world. She describes the world around us all in new and interesting ways, inviting the listener to stop and think about the nature that surrounds us daily. The poems refer directly to the listener, holding their hand as they step into the world created and offering them a place of calm and peace to stay in for a while. 

Paluck is an established media artist in Peterborough and an old friend of Thomas. She did the post-production, pairing the videos and poems together. “I tried to match the videos to [Thomas’] poems. I tried to find a connection in each one.” She hopes people come to the videos with “open heart and open ears.I’d like them to come with a blank slate.” She also wants the videos to remind people that “poetry is accessible, we all have poetry inside us and poetry is all around us.”

Each of the artists I talked to discussed these videos as a way to disconnect for a moment from the onslaught of terrible and stressful things happening in the world. They hope their videos provide a moment of peace and connection with nature for the people watching. 

As Thomas described it, they are videos for people “looking for a cup of tea.” She hopes to be a support to the “front line activists” fighting against the injustice in the world, providing a space of peace and comfort. “We know billions of people’s worth of grief,” she says and hopes for her poetry, “to counteract that with some peace and beauty, I think it is important if we are to move forward and tackle these huge problems.”

As this project is called 12 Weeks of Bliss I asked each of the artists their personal definitions of bliss. Mari Ya described it as, “A feeling of everything being in the right place, a feeling that overflows you, a feeling of connection. It’s short lived, a glimpse of universal connectedness. In that moment there’s no worry, there’s no anxiety, there’s no fear.” 

Thomas reiterated these points, saying, “Bliss, to me, is one of those ultimate states, like grief or transcendence. Where you’re really in touch with the universe and yourself in those moments.” 

Paluck added, “Connecting to my emotions, having an understanding of myself, being able to name my feelings. Those things feel really solid and good, even if they aren’t the most happiest of feelings. Knowing my truth is something I often seek to find through poetry.” 

The theme of connectedness with both oneself and others runs through all their descriptions and is something they are trying to achieve in the viewer through their videos. 

The 12 Weeks of Bliss project will be posted on social media including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Patreon, and YouTube on Wednesdays at 12 PM EST starting February 14th.