So exciting–we’re entering the third year of poetry in the fairy houses on the dog path of Santa Fe Skies RV Park off of Route 14. We’ve enjoyed hosting poems by Bill Waters, and are thrilled to preview Devon Miller-Duggan. Here is one of her poems. All of them will be installed by early summer. Stay tuned!
Mushroom
All the dogs know we’re here. None of the dogs wants you to know what they know about our sun-cap and curved gills. None of the dogs believe you’d believe the dreams we puff out just for them, just for them through the S of our door. Look closely as you can, closely, closely. Perhaps your dog will breathe just right so that you glimpse rainbows just behind the door.
Mushroom with sculptor Tim Brown, whose vision infuses the themes of the Fairy Houses.
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
“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.
These wonderful images are from students in last semester’s Color Theory class at SFCC with Sudeshna Sengupta. They are on six of the campus poetry posts: two in central courtyard, two at west entrance (upper & lower) and two in smoking area towards west of bookstore and cafeteria. I’ll be documenting the rest of the posts next–done by book artists. Enjoy this beautiful melding of words and color.
Your land is a tapestry of ribbon
and rattlesnakes, sky stitched
above it like an untouched stream.
Mornings, I collect eggs from your basin,
my fingers powdery and warm all day.
It’s impossible not to see the shape of a woman
in a mountain range, here a mound of breast,
there an aching for rivers long dead.
Check out 10 posts on SFCC campus for this poem and more!
FRAMED! There is new project for the Poetry Posts on Santa Fe Community College campus.
Santa Fe Poet Laureate Elizabeth Jacobson, along with Miriam Sagan who originated the posts, will curate 12 poets in the next 24 months. Expect a gathering of voices and some fresh poetry. There are ten posts for a walkable literary experience. The inaugural installation is poetry by Elizabeth Jacobson, to celebrate her appointment. It’s up July and August!
There are 10 poetry posts on Santa Fe Community College’s campus.
Since I’ve retired, no one is maintaining them, so I think I’ll just continue to as a community project for the time being. But I need help!
I’m looking for:
a poet with ten poems
an editor who wants to create a suite of ten poems
an artist, collagist, collaborative group to create 10 pages of images plus poetry
Each post houses a simple standard piece of paper
I’m going to put out a call in my on-line class and to the staff of Santa Fe Literary Review.
A selection from an e-zine would work. Each poem shoud be no more than one page.
Write me at msagan1035@aol.com to participate
You can mail me hard copy or a pdf would work too. It’s fun, and there’s audience. I’ll install the work. Interested?
Artist Suzanne Vilmain created a clay circus in a suitcase. This served as an inspiration for the Fiction class at SFCC, in which each student wrote a 1-line aphorism on the themes of “inside/outside” and “safety net.” Below are some images of the combinations:
The aphorisms are also now posted in the ten poetry posts on campus. Check them out!
Miriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond 