This gave me a refreshing perspective on how poetry and art can come together without boundaries. The poetry boxes are really “stuff” of museums, yet this project turned the idea upside down and brought the art to the outdoors where people were. -Jose Gonzalez, Poet, Professor, Coast Guard Academy
Tubac truly took “flight” during this amazing project. We saw community supporters, members of the Tubac Center of the Arts, poets and people who were intrigued about the idea of building a poetry box and having it on display as part of a public art project. Some of these were people who had not visited the art center before so we feel like we made new friends. The entire community came together, young and old to create over 35 Poetry boxes.
-Karen Topping, Executive Director, Tubac Center for the Arts, Arizona
This has been one of the most delightful projects I’ve been involved with in a long time. The boxes represent what New London’s all about: connection, collaboration and cooperation.
-Jeanne Sigel, Director of Marketing and Development, Garde Art Center, New London, CT
I was executive director of the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association (WPWA) when Ana Flores, serving as Artist-in-Residence at the time, approached me with her idea for an interactive outdoor installation she called “Poetry of the Wild.” Would I be interested in facilitating the project as part of her residency? I thought the idea a brilliant marriage of nature, arts, and the humanities, and was excited for WPWA to play host to its inaugural installation…the overwhelming community response to the project, and the willingness (and preparedness) of people to fill the poetry boxes with their contributions, showed that the arts could have a profound impact on community awareness of, and participation in, the natural environment. It also demonstrated to me that a renewed sense of place could be instilled in those who seek the solace of nature, as a place to which they could respond via written thoughts, ideas and dreams. It further confirmed that bringing the arts into the sciences builds the constituency, helping scientific organization communicate more widely the important message of natural resource conservation.
-Lori Urso, Former Exec. Director, Wood-Pawatuck Watershed Association, Hope Valley, RI
My involvement with Poetry of the Wild was as a participating artist. I was excited to be included in a project that had so many experiential aspects and enjoyed the creative problem-solving that accompanied the parameters of the project. Choosing a poem, conceptualizing the visual presentation and installing the sculpture were all challenges. I have done a number of outdoor projects and love the idea and experience of outdoor art. When done well, it has the potential to change our relationship w/those surroundings, seeing and experiencing it in a new way. -Olivia McCullough, Audubon refuge, Smithfield,RI
Powerful magnets. That’s what two outdoor poetry boxes have acted as in the Mill Pond Preserve of the Charlestown Land Trust in Charlestown, RI. Theyhave locked onto hikers and pulled them to their glass doors where two poems beckoned them, no dared them, to reach deep into their souls to share their own inner truths in poetry. Nature and poetry, a perfect diptych for creative release.
-Keith Killingbeck , Board of Directors,Charlestown Land Trust
It has been so special to be a part of Poetry of the Wild. Through the project, we’ve connected with people in new ways—from the community artists who created the boxes, to those who gathered for readings, to the visitors who’ve left their own poems and reflections in the notebooks tucked inside the boxes. It’s given us the gift of a new perspective on the places we care for and a glimpse into how others experience them and what it means to them. It’s also inspiring to know that we’re part of something bigger. Poetry boxes exist along trails in communities around the world, creating these small moments of connection between people and place. There’s something really human about that. And for us, having poems included by a dear friend makes the project even more meaningful—a beautiful way to honor someone we loved in a place we love.
-Kathan Teepee, Executive Director, Charlestown Land Trust