A Pup Moment.
What is this difference between private and public verse? We were on a train—we were on many trains—and I remember the spell of Ngoma’s voice clearing away the clutter; it began the space; Samantha and Elana reciting Lucille Clifton in dual-voice began the space.I have been on NYC subways when the last thing I’ve wanted to do is acknowledge the humanity of the person next to me.Poetry is not for subways; it is better left in closed books:I have felt this way too many times, and yet, once in a while, I’ve crossed the field.Empathy is a...
read moreThe Art of Risking.
Risk is a topic artists often talk, discuss. When poets look over each others poems and give constructive thoughts, the question often comes: what is this poem risking? What do poets risk by making our private thoughts public? By committing experiences, afflictions, lies, and shames to paper? What do we risk to gain? What do we risk to know? What do we risk to change? What do we risk to reveal? What do we risk to risk? This risk business can become all very abstract. I believe that every poem is a risk of some sort. Even if the risk is...
read moreGoal!!! – A Celebration on the Q Train
This past Saturday, PUP tried to get the day warmed up for the US soccer team. I like to think we did our part (as did the Q Train… and Ghana). Jared Singer, Adam Bowser, Elana Bell, Ken Arkind, Marcy Alexis, Rico Steal, Syreeta McFadden and I met (as always) at the Gandhi statue in Union Square. We escaped the summer heat to bring our ruckus to the Brooklyn bound Q train. I’ve got to say, something in spontaneous art has lit a fire for me. I’ve loved each location we’ve been able to “pop up.” Adam Falkner, Samantha Thornhill, and I were...
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See Pop Up Poets on Rattapallax.
Follow the below link to see PUP in action! http://www.vimeo.com/12043875
read moreCrossing Brooklyn Ferry, a PUP Story by Syreeta McFadden
Follow the below link to view writer/ photographer Syreeta McFadden’s photo essay on PUP’s May 16th adventure on the trains....
read morePUP Barks at the Botanical Gardens by Elana Bell
Poetry in the Botanical Garden, popping up like the first buds of spring, and that’s what we were on this balmy Saturday afternoon, as we joined Bob Holman and Marilyn Nelson in presenting the poetry of Emily Dickinson, along with original work. Bob had invited us to share his time and add a little something unexpected to the mix. We got there just as the reading was starting, and planted ourselves at various spots throughout the courtyard. The crowd was intimate, and the smell of too many sweet flowers to name drifted in on the breeze....
read morePoems and a Metrocard by Marcy Alexis
Photo by Syreeta McFadden “What’s your Alien Registration number?” – EdAssaulted with poetry! Yes, that’s exactly how I’d like to spend my Sunday afternoon on such a breathtaking day in mid-May. The weather was a consistent warm hug. As a New Yorker, all you can do is talk about the weather on a day like yesterday.. all day! People were just happy to re-introduce their faces and toes to the sun. What a day indeed ..my first ride-along with PUP (Poets in Unexpected Places/Pop Up Poets). I was initially hesitant to join this band of...
read moreOutside Hollywood Does Poetry.
PUP and violinist Janelle X., standing outside after their pop up performance at the annual Hollywood Does Poetry benefit for Bowery Arts & Sciences, our umbrella...
read moreA Dream Fulfilled–by Samantha Thornhill
Ever since my talk with Khadijah, where she mentioned doing poems in a grocery store, the dream has been relentless. It is a waking dream. It involves me performing my ode to picking blackberries in the produce section. Today the dream came true, and Elana and Akua showed up to star in it, outside of Whole Foods, our next target. Moses, our filmographer was also there, ready to capture these moments, as he did on the trains with us almost a week ago. How were we to do it? And how many poems could we get in before security arrived? We plotted....
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