FREE Poet Picnic

When

Where

Description

This unique outdoor event celebrates art, poetry, and nature with live poetry and music performances, and is free and open to the public.

Morning activities include a Haiku Workshop taught by Miriam Sagan, to sign-up call (505)768-4950; Escribiente Society calligraphy demonstrations and Weathergrams created to order; plus, Poets Picnic Chapbooks and poetry book sales. 

There is an all-afternoon poetry reading sponsored by the New Mexico State Poetry Society with featured poets Michelle Holland, Donald Levering, Diane Thiel, and Mark Weber. Music feature is the J.D. Smooth Duo.

Participants may bring a picnic lunch or purchase food truck fare and refreshments. Visitors are invited to walk the grounds while viewing original poems on Weathergrams, brown paper tags tied to trees and bushes. The short poems known as haiku are by New Mexico poets, beautifully rendered by Escribiente Society calligraphers. Chapbooks of these poems, hand-sewn by LIBROS New Mexico Book Arts Guild members, are available for sale to benefit the Open Space Alliance, a volunteer organization that supports Open Space activities. Local small presses offer poetry books for sale as part of the festivities.

The first Poets’ Picnic at the Open Space Visitor Center was held May 2017 and has become an annual community favorite. Tying poems and prayers to trees is a long-standing Asian custom. Weathergrams are a contemporary Western take on this, originated by calligrapher Lloyd Reynolds who made “weather writings” in the 1960’s at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. The display of poems by New Mexico poets transcribed onto Weathergrams by local artists is a playful adaptation of this arts form.  

SCHEDULE:

ONGOING Weathergram viewing throughout the Open Space Visitor Center grounds  

10:00 - 11:30 am: Haiku Workshop with Miriam Sagan in Conference Room; RSVP (505) 768-4950 to reserve a place. 

10:00 am – 2:30 pm: Escribiente Calligraphers Weathergram demos and sales at front entrance patio tables. Chapbook sales at front entrance plus other locations

11:30 – 3:00 pm: New Mexico Small Press book sales and information tables 

12:00 – 4:00 pm: Picnic on the patio and enjoy the view! Bring a lunch and your picnic  blanket. Some seating available or bring your own spectator chairs. Light refreshments available by donation. Food truck fare for purchase. 

12:00 – 12:45 pm: Entertainment

12:45 – 1:00 pm:  Introductions & Opening Remarks 

1:00 –4:00 pm: Featured Poets and Open Mic hosted by Dale Harris and Scott

                               Wiggerman

1 – 3:00 pm Featured Poets: Michelle Holland, Mark Weber, Diane Thiel, Donald

                    Levering, plus Scott Wiggerman, Dale Harris

3:00 – 4 pm Open Mic by signup