Adrian Matejka, Poet Laureate of the state of Indiana, 2018 to 2019. Reciting "Machine Containing Johnson's Friends Wrecked," a poem from his volume "The Big Smoke," 2013.
On the projection screen behind Mr. Matejka is a video clip of several men standing around a race car while it takes off. It barrels down the raceway, pulling ahead of the other speedsters.
A trail of exhaust follows each car as they throttle ahead toward the finish line.
Around the turn the convertible vehicles barrel, side by side, one pulling ahead after another, their fat wheels boring into the asphalt.
Two race cars dart ahead, inches apart, while an officiant stands at the finish line, awaiting the victor and the vanquished.
In a flash, one racer crosses the finish line before the other, a close victory.