How To Poetry Post!

How To Set Up Poetry Posts

Many years ago, when my friend Ana moved to Portland, Oregon, she discovered something she knew that I’d love. On my first visit to her she took me out walking to see local poetry posts—simple boxes on a post where the owners changed the poems displayed according to mood and season.
Ana knows me well—I was immediately entranced. This is a kind of simple diy project, somewhat like a Little Free Library. These are nicely documented at https://lauraofoster.medium.com/poetry-on-the-block-literary-posts-abound-in-portland-1a30fcf9daab

An excellent source is also: http://www.owntheboards.org/a-box-upon-all-your-houses-the-spread-of-poetry-boxes-and-how-you-can-get-involved/

“Basic poetry boxes include a container – similar to the sort housing real estate fliers – mounted atop a pole. A handful of Portland residents specialize in building poetry boxes – – who sell their work for $100-$200, depending on style and materials. (Editor’s Note: these older prices may have gone up.) Participants often opt for less expensive options, though. Indeed, one of the beauties of the poetry box phenomenon is its simplicity. (…) many “poetry lovers built boxes for themselves or purchased real estate flyer boxes and got right to it.”

I was interested to read that the posts are also used as community projects on public land. This was ultimately what I was inspired to do.

This is why there are ten poetry posts on the campus of Santa Fe Community College—still curated by me! An analogous group of posts was put up at Institute of American Indian Art, but I don’t know if they are currently in use.

If you are interested in installing one, ask a local crafts person to make it for you—or if you are a woodworker, you can do it yourself. At one time it looked like they could be ordered from the Portland area but I couldn’t find a perfect fit, and shipping of course adds to the cost.

A neighborhood or cul-de-sac might consider installing a set and maintaining them together. I’m always glad to consult: msagan1035@aol.com.

Here are some of the current posts on campus. The array is currently featuring book artists.

The first image is the alcove next to Fine Arts—work by Mary Ann Crowe.
Courtyard C shows work from Cynthia Wilcox.
The garden on Fitness Center path highlights Gail Murray’s garlic poem and image.