Published October 2, 2020
Have you strolled past the gazebo recently? Look for winding lines of poetry in vivid color. “Groundswell,” part of Melrose’s Wayfinding & Creative Placemaking Initiative, merges words and art to create “walking poetry” — a series of placards that encourage viewers to stroll through poems one phrase at a time.
The work of artist Aria Arch and poet Jessie Brown, both of Arlington, “Groundswell” takes its inspiration from the natural world. “We wanted to lift some spirits,” says Arch. “Jessie’s poetry uses nature as metaphor beautifully—on the reverse side of the placards, I build on the poem’s tone to evoke a different visual experience in color and imagery.”
Their work has been shown in venues ranging from the CrossRoads environmental exhibit on Boston’s Fenway near the MFA, to the Minuteman Bikeway, and the 2019 Earth Day celebration on Boston Common.
After installing three poems at Ell Pond—“Hope Speaks to Me,” “Listen” and “Why I Miss the Lost Trees,” Brown and Arch are seeking community feedback, on site and online, for two more new, site-specific pieces. They invite residents to connect at www.facebook.com/walkingpoetryproject.
There will be an “interview phase” and a “workshop phase,” explains Kris Rodolico, director of Follow Your Art Community Studios. The artists will visit Ell Pond Oct. 3 and Oct. 10 to develop “a poem from conversations.”
Residents will also be invited to a Zoom writing workshop, Oct. 19, to create a collaborative poem together.
A celebration and community poetry reading is scheduled for Nov. 7 (rain date Nov. 8) for the installation of the final, communal poem at Ell Pond.
“I’m excited that word is getting out,” says Lenore Gauthier Smith, an Ashland Street resident who served on the town’s Wayfinding & Creative Placemaking committee. “I look forward to seeing what’s in store.”
