First Poem: Theodore H. Banks, Jr. is an 18 x 12 inch graphite drawing on handmade abaca paper by Jennifer Seas, part of an evolving suite of works on paper that reimagine poetry books as intimate memorials. This piece catalogues a book dedicated to the artist’s mother, capturing not only the printed text but also the physicality of the book itself — including the shadow of its open gutter, bleed-through from the verso, and at times, the silhouette of a reader's body.

Through exquisite precision, Seas collapses textual, emotional, and physical layers of reading into a single drawn image. The work reclaims overlooked paratextual elements—dedications, shadows, margins—as material for reflection. In doing so, it invites viewers to consider the maternal as a foundational presence in poetic subjectivity.

This work is unframed and ships flat.