Sometimes, you get so used to your surroundings that you stop noticing them. But Washington’s poet laureate is asking all of us to take a step back, reflect on where we live, then write a poem about it.
Claudia Castro Luna is creating an online poetry map. When you click on a red dot, a poem about the place comes up. She's adding to it all the time and says anyone can submit a poem.
The online mapping project, funded by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission, is called Washington Poetic Routes. Castro Luna writes on the website that it "explores Washington's rich geographical terrain, both in terms of landscape and in terms of the human relationships that unfold across the state."
Castro Luna said one of her favorite poems on the map is from a fifth grader named Jacob. He lives in Brewster in north central Washington. Castro Luna said she loves the way the poem evokes a sense of place. It includes the lines "I see trees with apples, golden and red" and "tractors big as large stones."
Another poem on the map is from a store clerk on Whidbey Island, who writes about the cherry blossoms that carpet her town every spring. In another, a woman near the Idaho border reflects on trudging through snow to get her mail.
Castro Luna said she’s long believed writing poetry is something everyone can do. And that’s what makes this project so gratifying.
“I love people’s imaginations and ability to tell us about their everyday lives," Castro Luna said. "I made the dots red because they remind me of heart beats."
She said linking all of those heart beats on a map helps connect a state that is divided in so many ways. Along with each poem on the map is an image of artwork from Washington state's art collection. There are 4,700 public artworks in the collection, which is managed by ArtsWA.
You can submit a poem at wapoeticroutes.org.
