Ana Flores' Poetry of the Wild

Ana Flores is an artist who came to the U.S. from Cuba as a child. She now lives in Rhode Island and Nova Scotia, and her work (painting, sculpture, and installation) explores the relationships between place, the individual, and community. It also reflects Flores' concern for the natural environment and she strives to work in harmony with her surroundings (for more information on Ana Flores, visit www.art-farm.net).

After visiting Colorado Springs as a guest artist at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Flores approached Dr. Suzanne MacAulay, chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, and Smokebrush about creating a version of her collaborative, community-oriented installation project called Poetry of the Wild. Previously developed in several protected sites on the East Coast, but designed to work in more urban settings as well, the project brings together visual artists, poets, and students to create decorated "poetry boxes" containing site-specific texts and interactive journals that build community relationships and an awareness of the surrounding environment. Some of the texts are "found" (that is, previously published and selected for the appropriateness to a site) while others were produced by poets for this project; many were submitted by members of the public at selected libraries and museums.

The completed boxes have been placed throughout the city where citizens may either seek them out, based on maps and other publicity information, or discover them by chance. Viewers are encouraged to open the box, read the poem, look at the art, pay close attention to their environment, and consider the many relationships between each of these components. The viewer may also add a drawing or message to the journal enclosed within each box. While on display, each box is watched over by a designated volunteer, called a "poetry warden" by Flores, who checks the box on regular basis, repairs minor damage, sharpens pencils, replaces full journals, and keeps a record of entries.

After approximately six to eight weeks, the boxes will be removed from their sites and displayed in the Smokebrush Gallery before being auctioned off to the public, with proceeds being divided between participating groups. Smokebrush will partner with SmokeMuse publishing company to produce an illustrated anthology chronicling the project and the texts and journal entries included.

Sample Poetry:

TWEAKED BY RIVERS
  
Creeks nourished by algae,
home to crayfish with pincers,
where ducks and I shuffled
were not my favorite places to play,
though I splashed with my brothers
hoping their catch would not set me trembling.
 
My terror of the wide Missouri at flood time
when I walked its railway bridge,
looking down at roaring waters,
told me I wanted nothing to do with swimming.
This fright subsided when I rode a bus
west on the highway beside the Columbia River.
Falls spilled from the walls of its canyons,
towns grew at its sloping edges,
salmon moved east countering currents,
and the river widened until its banks
ribboned the continent and held back the sea.
  
I wanted nothing to do with joining a crowd
that rafted Costa Rica's east side.
Yet some insane fascination found me
bobbing with eight others, from one boat edge
to the other, as the horror of rollicking
rapids snatched at my fractured nerve ends.
It took the lazy rivers of France
to restore my equilibrium.
  
Now when I walk beside flowing water,
my eyes search its depths.  I move
from ripple to ripple, listen.
When the creeks are low, I dream
of ouzels high up a mountain,
the roar of water so deafening,
they are only a quick flicker.
  
When I hear geese call one to the other,
one upstream, the other down,
I am saddened at not knowing their language.
They could teach me how to avoid extinction.
  
-Beth Ann Bassein

Community Partners :
Ana Flores Smokebrush Foundation for the Arts
City of Colorado Springs
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Bemis Art School
Pikes Peak Library District
Museum of Mining and Industry
Poetry West

Participating schools :
UCCS
CIVA High School
Nueva Ventura High School
School in the Woods (4th Grade)

Poetry boxes may be found at the following locations:
Museum of Mining and Industry Grounds
Black Forest (Section 16, perimeter trail near School in the Woods)
Open Space near Heller Center
Monument Valley Park (2 locations: near Fontanero, and at the Duck Pond south of Glen Street)
America the Beautiful Park (south end, near switchbacks)
Acacia Park (southeast corner)
Hillside Community Center
Memorial Park (near Prospect Lake)
Garden of the Gods (Cabin Canon Trail)
Bear Creek Nature Center
Starsmore Discovery Center (Lower Columbine Trail)
Red Rocks Canyon
Penrose Library
Manitou Springs Library
Fountain Library
Evergreen Cemetery