Long Enough to Write Our Names On

Allison Spence | Tallahassee, Florida, USA

In the poem “Snow”, Robert Frost tells the story of a couple who is awakened in the middle of the night by a visitor who is trying to make his way home during a snowstorm. On one hand, the couple is annoyed to be woken up by this neighbor. On the other hand, they are concerned for his safety as he leaves them and makes his way through the blizzard. In this poem, Frost captures a fundamental tension of communities: the degree to which we should care or not care about the plight of others. American society is centered on the independence of the individual and notions of self-reliance. A 2021 Harvard study concluded, “Americans are far more likely to prioritize their own happiness over caring for others, and they’re far more invested in cultivating their children’s happiness than their children’s caring for others.”16 A common refrain in political discussions is “There are no socialists behind a snowplow.” The implication is that we generally accept community-run services when we need them. The theory goes, the potentially harsh, hazardous winter season demands a level of community organization so that everyone survives. In Frost’s poem, that means a willingness to open one’s doors during a blizzard to a traveler. Contemporary examples of community caring are heat assistance programs, warming centers for the homeless, and winter road clearing services. The collage of Florida-based Allison Spence speaks to the role the season plays in the collective identity of the community. She writes: “It was in Vermont when I first saw snow, learned how to dress for it, and how to position my body to walk on the frozen paths it leaves be - hind. Later, when I settled in a place where snow fell, I learned that the physical experience of snow connected me with otherwise strangers sharing that experience with me, whether in a moment of shivering camaraderie at the bus stop, or a borrowed shovel after a long snowfall. Long Enough to Write Our Names On is a collage that focuses on the temporary communities that our experience of the weather, namely snow, can create. Its title referenc - ing a line from the Robert Frost poem “Snow”, the collage contains nearly forty images from the Sheldon Archives. The abundance of images of snow and of people in snow speaks to the enormous role it plays in the lives and collective identities of Middlebury residents. One central image in this collage is from a postcard featuring the frozen Middlebury Falls and is signed “Middlebury Home Folks”. This signature embodies the shared sense of identity and belonging that I hoped to recreate in the layers of snow and residents—like strata—that climb up the collage.”