alley filled with public creative expression
ever-evolving
ever-powerful
—
“i’m a great believer in poetry out of the classroom, in public places,
on subways, trains, on cocktail napkins.
i’d rather have my poems on the subway than around the seminar table at an mfa program.”
-billy collins
—
ann arbor, michigan, usa
summer 2021
thank you sarah freligh, for your beautiful poem
in this national poetry month and every month.
“poetry is plucking at the heartstrings, and making music with them”
– dennis gabor
—
photo credit: vermont garden journal
last weekend
at the 44th annual ann arbor folk festival
5 live streamed hours on saturday night
every kind of music and performance
big and small
i once again
heard beautiful poems played
by my favorite pianist
george winston
whose song ‘thanksgiving’ i heard for the very first time
many years ago on the radio while on a road trip to toronto
having no idea who it was or what the song was
being very moved by it
not knowing if i’d ever hear it again
serendipity stepped in
when driving back home
with a windham hill artists’ compilation cd
an unexpected gift from my host
on which he was a featured artist playing that very song.
“music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.”
-pablo casals
3 am is the hour of writers,
painters, poets, musicians, silence seekers,
over-thinkers, and creative people.
We know who you are,
We can see your light on.
Keep on keeping on.
-author unknown
—
image credit: pinterest – vintage
take a moment out of your day to be moved by this very short film
—
credits: aleteia, barr pictures, open hands open hearts
October breathed poetry —
beautiful and glowing.
—
~Terri Guillemets, “Tenth verse,” 2018,
blackout poetry created from
Octave Mirbeau, The Diary of a Chambermaid, 1891
—
painting credit: ‘autumn tree’, deborah mcgee, watercolor on paper
make way on the path
stepping creeping lime grows close
foot of goliath
—
in honor of international haiku poem day
why not take a stab at it?
—
“poetry is news brought to the mountains by a unicorn and an echo.”
-czeslaw milosz
—
scio woods, ann arbor, michigan, usa – spring 2020
Poetry reaffirms our common humanity by revealing to us that individuals, everywhere in the world, share the same questions and feelings. Poetry is the mainstay of oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures.
In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.
A decision to proclaim March 21 as World Poetry Day was adopted during UNESCO’s 30th session held in Paris in 1999.
One of the main objectives of the Day is to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities.
The observance of World Poetry Day is also meant to encourage a return to the oral tradition of poetry recitals, to promote the teaching of poetry, to restore a dialogue between poetry and the other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, to support small publishers and create an attractive image of poetry in the media, so that the art of poetry will no longer be considered an outdated form of art, but one which enables society as a whole to regain and assert its identity. As poetry continues to bring people together across continents, all are invited to join in.
—
“poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”
-robert frost
—
credits: photo: UN Photo/Mark Garten, UNESCO
