Two trapeze artists swing from one end of the tent to the other spinning through the air tumbling and twirling as if they were swimming in an ocean so graceful. The audience looks on in pure childlike amusement mouths open wide in awe and near disbelief. What capabilities have they! to be moving through the air like acrobatic fish. Welcome To The Mind Of Marshall James Kavanaugh says a sign at the tent entrance. A man standing yelling through a megaphone booms, Welcome! one and all! There are many acts to follow: the lion tamers who boldly place their bodies within the jowls of those terrible African beasts, the contortionists who fold their bodies into unrecognizable positions, and for those with courage in their hearts, there are the grotesque spectacles of the freak show and the bearded lady, the man with two heads and the little wolf-boy. But of course! his mind is not limited to the fantasies within the tent, oh no, the genius of James Kavanaugh spills out to the travelling hands washing the elephants and the caravan full of gypsies predicting the future with crystal ball prophecies and tarot card visions. And even beyond the lay of the carnival de fantastique, the nearby city and village are astir with excitement and frenzy, the conversations in the cafes are spurred on by the pure absurdity of one man coming to town and popping a circus from his crown chakra. How can this be? they ask. Is it true? Have you seen? After prolonged hours and weeks of whimsies and delights, James Kavanaugh packs up his theatrics and the people awaken as if from a slumber unsure the source of their experience. Waking life? Sleeping dreams? He smiles and laughs and motions with his arms, this dreamer of dream laborers, writing his stories without a pen painting pictures with a sensuous language rolling off of the tongue, he creates beauty of madness and madness and love, the truest of dream poets, I am honored to open these pages for what is to come: brilliance, magic, and what is better than that? Simply said, and in all earnest, ready yourself for a truly authentic mind. Willow Zef Philadelphia October 2012
