This public street project, modeled after Boston’s Raining Poetry Project, opens on July 1st in conjunction with the 2017 Roxbury Sidewalk Festival. Poems will be stenciled on the sidewalks of Roxbury using biodegradable water-repellent spray. THE POEMS WILL REMAIN INVISIBLE ON SUNNY DAYS, BUT ONCE WATER HITS THEM, THE POEMS WILL SUDDENLY, MAGICALLY REVEAL THEMSELVES! Raining Poetry in Roxbury 2017 will feature approximately 20 poems stenciled on our sidewalks. This is a fun and unexpected way to expose people to poetry. Wanted: Original short poems, 4 line max, 16 word max. Subjects for poems will be open, but we encourage works connected to the Catskills. Poems meeting length restrictions will be selected through a blind-judging committee, made up of four members, and overseen by Writers in the Mountains. Chosen poems will be stenciled onto Roxbury sidewalks and will not be visible in dry weather. Watering cans will be placed near each poem opening day (and for the three following weekend days). Visitors will walk through town in search of the watering cans, and then sprinkle the water onto the sidewalk to reveal the poems. An open-air reception will follow later in the afternoon (3:00-5:00, location to be determined). Participating Poets will be invited to read their works and answer questions from the audience. Please send submissions to jtstone@catskill.net no later than April 30, 2017. Include your name, address, and phone number, in addition to your email address. Raining Poetry in Roxbury 2017, sponsored by Writers in the Mountains, is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Decentralization Grant Program, with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature, and is administered in Delaware County by The Roxbury Arts Group (RAG). Writers in the Mountains is a 501 ( c ) (3) not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide a nurturing environment for the practice, appreciation and sharing of creative writing. Online at writersinthemountains.org.
