Downtown Poetry Walk

Join us for a poetry walk downtown on Sat, April 28 at 3 pm featuring the installation of poetry boxes created by community members, artists, poets and students. The walk begins at the Public Library and ends at Expressiones Cultural center with stops along the way to view the boxes and hear the poems read aloud. The boxes are part of Poetry of the Wild a participatory environmental art project designed by Ana Flores, an ecological designer and sculptor of Earth Inform Studio. Flores, whose studio is in Rhode Island, has done the collaborative, community based project,"Poetry of the Wild" throughout the country. The last city to host it was Colorado Springs, Colorado. She has created this New London project while she has been artist in residence at Mitchell College since February. 

Each box contains poems and a journal for public response. The poetry boxes, fabricated out of recycled materials or by adapting old containers, are designed to reflect the chosen texts. Many of the poems are by writers from the area including Jose Gonzalez, Rhonda Ward, Alva Greenberg, Michael Bradford, Minerva Sadorra, Lana Orphanides, Jeanne Sigel and others.   The boxes will remain up for a period 4 months and also feature an audio phone tour sponsored by the Public Library of New London. 

Come be a part of this exciting community project, look for the boxes, and write in the journals. The walk on the 28th will stop along several sites downtown including: the Garde Arts Theater, the park at The Day, the Hygenic Art Park, The bean & Leaf Cafe,  and ISSAC school community garden before ending at Expressiones Cultural Center (84 Bank Street) for the kick off reception at 4:30 pm.

The project is funded in part by the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism in partnership with the Mystic Arts Center, Expressiones Cultural Cultural Center in New London, the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art at UConn Avery Point and the Public Library of New London.