This weekend, the public is invited to enjoy a special virtual poetry reading. The poems are selected works inspired by this summer’s Art on the Trails exhibition at Beals Preserve.
Last spring, artists were again encouraged to submit proposals for outdoor art appropriate for the 2020 theme Rising Up:
“OUR GREATEST GLORY IS NOT IN NEVER FAILING, BUT RISING UP EVERY TIME WE FAIL” RALPH WALDO EMERSON
As we move through our lives, in our communities, in our world, we are challenged. How do we face those challenges and move forward with courage? Artists responding to this theme are asked to consider this question and respond with proposals that answer the question or demonstrate the rising of the human spirit.
15 pieces by 14 artists were selected and installed along the preserve’s trails. The public was invited to view them from mid-June to mid-September. A special call was put out to poets encouraging them to visit. Organizers were seeking poems inspired by the art installations. 25 poems would be selected for the annual chapbook.
Normally, the poetry reading is combined with a closing ceremony with poems read at the relevant exhibits. This year, they are going virtual. organizers will hold the special poetry reading over Facebook live this Sunday, October 18, at 6:00 pm,.
The event announcement shares:
The selected poets, who wrote poems in response to art installations on the trails of the Elaine and Phillip Beals Preserve in Southborough, MA this summer, will read their work as we share images of the work. Poets included in this year’s collection include Zachary Bos, Chelsea Bradway, Didi Chadran, Sarah Crowley Chestnut, Joanne DeSimone Reynolds, Cat Dossett, Wendy Drexler, Tom Driscoll, Cynthia Franca, Anna Friedrich, Fred Gerhard, Aratrika Ghosh, Connor Griffiths, Lynn Horsky, Alexis Ivy, Denise Johnson, Trisha Knudsen, Candace Kubinec, Xiaoly Li, Michele Mendelson, Cheryl Miller, Olivia Quercio, Sheryl Roberts, Erika Robinson, Maura Snell, Sarah Snyder, Lawrence Spezzano, Deana Taveres, Catherine M. Weber, and Lily Zifcak.
If you would like to order the full color book for $20, click here. (For photos of some of the art that was on display, you can look here, here, and here.)
