Tag Archives: Poet-Artist Collaboration XVI

Postscript: Poet-Artist Collaboration XVI–A Celebration of National Poetry Month!

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Tim and I traveled to Zumbrota, MN last Saturday evening for this year’s salute to National Poetry Month at the Crossings at Carnegie. Each year, a group of poets and artists are paired up through a juried process, and then they come together to meet; introduce and read the poems; and view and enjoy the resulting visual art inspired by the poems.

After fifteen previous such celebrations, Marie Marvin and her staff have this event down to a fine artistic science. Beginning with a potluck reception at Crossings gallery & shop, moving to the nearby State Theater (operated by the Zumbrota Area Arts Council) for readings by poets and comments by visual artists, and then back to Crossings for lively conversation and closer looks at the art pieces, this event has something for everyone. And it gets better every year!

This year, among the twenty-three pairs of literary and visual artists, Tim and I were pleased to see poets Christine Kallman (a Northfield neighbor, playwright, and Sidewalk Poet) and her daughter; to see poet Ken McCullough and his wife, playwright Lynn Nankivil,  friends from  Winona; and to meet new people including a multi-talented artist from Red Wing, Art Kenyon, and his wife, Kathleen. Art created a painting inspired by my poem, “Nomad’s Daughter” (originally published in Third Wednesday.) His comments, and our conversation afterwards, helped me to understand my poem better. I love what he did with the poem, taking it into a dimension I could never have imagined. Below are some photos of the evening, to give you a flavor of it.

I was excited to find the painting inspired by poem.

Tim and I snagged good seats for the main program.

I get to meet “my” artist, Art Kenyon. Having thought about one poem in depth this spring, he decides to take home my book, Still Life with Poppies: Elegies.

Below, impresario Marie Marvin, and I channel the energies of Broadway’s classic, Cats–especially appropriate since the musical is based upon T.S. Eliot’s poems in Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Marie models one of the evening’s wearable artworks, a polar fleece hat and mittens combo designed by Lana Sjoberg and inspired by Mim Kagol’s poem, “Cat in the Garden,” while I wish I could really sing!

It was an unforgettable evening that still has us clicking our heels!

Poet-Artist Collaboration XVI Reading on April 8, 2017 at The Crossings in Zumbrota

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PAC XVI postcard (1)

For the 16th year in a row, Crossings at Carnegie, a lively art center and concert venue in Zumbrota, Minnesota, has brought poets together with visual artists. Each year, poets send in poems and, through a blind judging process, upwards of two dozen are selected. Meanwhile, through a similar juried process, an equal number of visual artists are selected. The end result is a month-long exhibit at The Crossings to celebrate National Poetry Month, and the highlight is a celebratory reception and reading. This year, on Saturday, April 8, artists, poets, friends, family, and art-and-poetry lovers generally will gather for a feast of great food and wine and a chance to hear poems read, to view the art works inspired by the poems, and to hear a little bit about the inspiration behind the work.

I will be there to read my poem, “Nomad’s Daughter,” and I would love to see you, too, if your schedule allows.

The Crossings is a very dynamic place. I have participated in four past Poet-Artist Collaborations, and, some years ago, they hosted a joint exhibition of my photographs and those of Northfielder Patsy Dew. They always have something interesting going on, and their shop is full of unusual and beautiful merchandise that makes finding a perfect gift quite easy. It is worth checking out any day of the year!  For directions, and for more information about the depth of program offerings, from classes and concerts, to exhibitions and shop offerings, you can find out more about The Crossings at Carnegie by checking out their website.

Sig Flowers