JOSH S ROSE
Los Angeles, CA
"Let Me Clear My Throat," Nov 2023.
Created by Josh S. Rose
​
Let Me Clear My Throat comes directly out of having been treated for cancer with a total thyroidectomy (removal of thy thyroid). The thyroid sits directly in front of the trachea - an exposed and vulnerable part of the body. Kind of a first line of defense to the environment. The process of going through this surgery had a profound effect on my understanding of the world and myself. In this piece, I reflect a bit on my own journey as a creative child who evolved into who I became. When I began writing, I wasn't sure why I was doing it. I thought you only wrote like this if you wanted to be a folk singer, or something. So, I identified as a singer, though I could never sing very well. I enjoy remembering the hazy understandings of childhood; the misperceptions; the piecing together of bits and pieces of the world into what amounts to the best we can. There's something beautifully poetic and human about it.
"Go West," Dec 2020.
Created by Josh S. Rose
​
It was a hard year, 2020. People were tired, exhausted, depressed, grief-stricken, angry, too. My boy, Mars, was five then, almost six. I was only a few years outside of agency life, myself, still trying to figure out how I was going to go forward with everything. Make ends meet, and all that.
​
This piece was sort of me talking to my son, but probably more talking to the young version of myself. The one who grew up and found himself spending too many days on the east coast. It's not to say you can't make a life out there. It's just not what I wished for. Me, I need the warm Pacific. And, well, he's my son.
​
But it could all just be the grief talking.