Adam Benkato
History
Poem: “Frabjous Feelings,” 2008

The twenty-eight-line “Jabberwocky” poem that appears in Through the Looking-Glass has inspired countless imitations and parodies in art and literature. Of particular interest are the poem’s numerous invented words. Alice remarks in the story how close to normal words they sound: “Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don’t exactly know what they are!” In this short work, Benkato introduces us to frabj (and its adjectival version frabjous) as well as conduddles—and leaves it up to the reader to interpret their (non)sensical meaning.