"Poetry in the Park at the Soundscape Ampitheater".
"It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there."
William Carlos Williams, M.D., "Ashphodel, That Greeny Flower"
If Williams, a medical doctor by trade, was right then O, Miami Poetry Festival is trying to save lives in Miami, improving the health of residents one poem at a time. The word-crafting event seeks to bring a poem to every resident in Miami for the month of April. Um, wait, that's 2.6 million people in 30 days! Ok. That's funny. Now, what's really behind the festival that has transformed the most romantic written art form into a collaborative community art project.
Backed by Miami literary heavyweights like F.I.U Professor and poet Campbell Mcgrath, The O, Miami Poetry Festival started in 2011 after receiving a $300,000 grant from the Knight Foundation. Wow, That's pricy, but I guess it’s for health purposes, according to Williams. Since then, poetry has been thrown from helicopters, flown by airplanes, and driven in Ferraris. “O, Miami tests the limits of what’s possible when circulating poems among a community,” says Executive Director Scott Cunningham. “Miamians should watch out for poems on rooftops, in a fortune cookie, on a cafecito cup, at a fashion show, on the sand, on prescription medicine bottles, on the lawn, in your hair, on doorsteps... above water, and even under water!” The organizers have strived to bring a diverse voice to the festival while still appealing to the crowds often at any means, attracting with food, drinks, or flashy spectacles. It seems there's no other way to get so many Miamians interested in poetry!
But, the annual poetry month fete has also presented smaller events like "Poetry Karaoke" at the festival's 2014 Poetry House, "Poetry at the Garden" at the former R.Y.P.E. Buena Vista Community Garden, and "Poets that Rock" at Churchill's Pub. These events were chosen from proposals from members of the community, showing many have a real interest in applying the supposedly outdated art form to benefit those around them.
Here are some of this year’s most anticipated events:
- The opening event of this year's festival, "Flip the Script," is an interactive dance performance during which poetry sign flippers will take over downtown Miami at the Bayfront Park Metro Station on April 1. According to O, Miami :
“’Flip the Script’ is an outdoor text and dance performance created by Miami artist Rudi Goblen for the 2016 O, Miami Poetry Festival. The performance lyricizes the now common practice of “sign-flipping” on road sides to produce place-based advertisements. On the morning of April (and on select mornings throughout the month), a breakdance crew organized by artist Goblen invades downtown Miami sidewalks and medians with seventeen original "flip signs" created from Donald Justice's poem "Twenty Questions."
Downtown locations and times will be chosen to maximize the potential audience of pedestrian, vehicular, and public transportation traffic. April 1st, 15th, and 29th. “ I hope to catch one of these signs but I wonder if some of essence of poetry is lost when one breaks down a poem into parts and presents it as advertising. I guess a bit of bit of poetry is better than none at all. Besides, Downtown Miami is already filled with tons of non-poetic ads and lots of steady traffic. - The Sunday, April 10 open mic poetry reading at Mathesson Hammock Park “Rising Water Poetry Floatila” will draw attention to ecological issues such as climate change. Here’s the official O, Miami description:
"Come along for a ride down the canals that crisscross Miami and help to keep it above water by reminding the residents who live along these waterways of the looming threat of climate change. How will we do this? By reading ecologically themed poetry, making music, and taking part in a unique spectacle, of course. Think Waterworld. Think Mad Max on Miami’s canals.”
It’s great to bring light to climate change when most people are still in the dark about the greatest cause–animal agriculture from the meat and dairy industries!
This year's festival also brings a Poetry Health Fair to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Williams would be so proud.
“O, Miami partners with Jackson Health Partners for bring you Poetry Rx and a poetry health fair. In a project called Bedside Meter a small group of poets will bring special moment to patients who are recovering from a long-term injury. Our team of poets will visit patients at Jackson Memorial who are in long-term rehab. We will sit with the patients and ask them about a moment in their lives that they would like to have turned into poetry and create a poem to the patient to keep.” With all the unhealthy eaters in the city, health is definitely a concern!
For a complete list of events visit www.omiami.org
