Above: Organizers for Art on the Trails hope that this year’s Legacy inspired installations will inspire poets. (images cropped from Art on the Trails’ photo gallery*)
Earlier this summer, I shared news on the installation of this year’s Art on the Trails exhibit at the Beals Preserve. That included a note that organizers would again be calling on poets to take inspiration in the exhibit. The deadline is one week from today, so I’m highlighting that aspect of this summer’s exhibit.
As is their tradition, organizers put out a call to poets.
Each year, Art on the Trails asks the public to submit ekphrastic poetry, poems written specifically about or inspired by artwork in the exhibit. Submissions are then reviewed and the top selections are included in the annual chapbook.* This year, they plan to select 26 poems (two for each artwork).
Submissions are being accepted through Wednesday, July 31st.
Poets whose work is selected will also be invited to read the poems at the closing ceremony at Beals Preserve on September 15th. The chapbook will be available for sale at the event. (Featured poets will receive a free copy.)
It’s helpful for poets to understand that the theme for this year’s exhibit theme is Legacy, in honor of the late conservationist Whitney Beals.
Organizers encourage (but don’t require) poets to experience the art in person, and even offer guided tours
Of course, you don’t have to be a poet to enjoy the exhibit. Anyone can visit the exhibit for free, daily from dawn to dusk. Click here for my prior post with the map and details.
For those interested in the poetry aspect, who can’t visit the exhibit, there are alternative methods for viewing the works.
The website features a photo gallery with details on each piece. Once you have identified which work(s) you are interested in, you can check out the YouTube channel to watch videos with more detail from the installation day.
Poetry can be submitted via the Call for Poetry page. The website highlights that his year’s collection will be judged by Adele Evershed — last year’s poetry award winner. Evershed is a Welsh writer who resides in America. You can read more about her on the website.
*(images cropped from photos credited to Chelsea Bradway, works identified clockwise as: QUEEN ANNE’S LACE by Gints Grinbergs, BARK OWL by Pam Bonaguide, GENERATIONS by Stephen Strout, ANCESTRAL MEANDERINGS by Nilou Moochhala, and BAREFOOT ON THE HILL by Casey Hayward)
