Spring Break
Poetic Journeys a forum for all kinds of art
John Bailey
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Focus
Ten poems were given new life on Tuesday, as the Creative Writing department and the proud poets themselves unveiled 2009's Poetic Journeys selections in the Arena Gallery of the Fine Arts Building.
Poetic Journeys is a joint effort by UConn's Creative Writing department and the Design Center. Standout poems are selected each year to be featured on campus buses, elevators and in the hallways of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The poems are then given to design students, where they undergo a metamorphosis from plain text to striking pieces of visual art.
Poets and designers alike took the podium on Tuesday: the poets to read, the designers to guide the audience through their visual interpretation of their assigned poem.
The poets read their own poems once in full, without accompaniment. The poster was then displayed, and the shown excerpt repeated.
"It's a really awesome opportunity for graphic designers and poets to come together," said Marisa Gumpert, a 6th-semester English major. "Such a wide range of people will be able to appreciate [the poems]."
Despite the gulf between their fields, the designers took readily to the project.
"It's fun to collaborate with a different department," said Stephanie Mullins, a 10th-semester communications design major. "Otherwise, we never leave the art building."
According to designer Kristi-Lynn Jacovino, a 10th-semester communications design major, both departments did each other justice.
"I think the designers were happy with their work - I hope the poets were, too," Jacovino said. "Me, I was just trying to make [the poster] look like I thought it would read out loud. I think it worked really well."
Jacovino designed the poster for "The Life, The Meaning," an excerpt from a longer work by Joseph B. Welch. Welch was pleased with Jacovino's interpretation of his text.
"It was so amazing and unexpected," said Welch, a 6th-semester English and art history major. "My part is pure experience, and it's cut down so much. It's an incredible opportunity."
Despite this year's creative success, releasing one's poems to another artist isn't always easy, said Jennifer Holley, director of the program.
"[It's] a major leap for poets, some of whom have been known to lose sleep over line breaks," Holley said.
In previous years, the designers haven't always spoken at the unveiling, according to Sean Forbes, assistant director of the Creative Writing program. Asking each designer to speak allows the whole creative process to share the limelight.
The poems will appear across campus in the last week of August, Forbes said. Once posted, the poems will be rotated regularly, giving each poet-designer team multiple chances to show off their work.
Poetic Journeys is a joint effort by UConn's Creative Writing department and the Design Center. Standout poems are selected each year to be featured on campus buses, elevators and in the hallways of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The poems are then given to design students, where they undergo a metamorphosis from plain text to striking pieces of visual art.
Poets and designers alike took the podium on Tuesday: the poets to read, the designers to guide the audience through their visual interpretation of their assigned poem.
The poets read their own poems once in full, without accompaniment. The poster was then displayed, and the shown excerpt repeated.
"It's a really awesome opportunity for graphic designers and poets to come together," said Marisa Gumpert, a 6th-semester English major. "Such a wide range of people will be able to appreciate [the poems]."
Despite the gulf between their fields, the designers took readily to the project.
"It's fun to collaborate with a different department," said Stephanie Mullins, a 10th-semester communications design major. "Otherwise, we never leave the art building."
According to designer Kristi-Lynn Jacovino, a 10th-semester communications design major, both departments did each other justice.
"I think the designers were happy with their work - I hope the poets were, too," Jacovino said. "Me, I was just trying to make [the poster] look like I thought it would read out loud. I think it worked really well."
Jacovino designed the poster for "The Life, The Meaning," an excerpt from a longer work by Joseph B. Welch. Welch was pleased with Jacovino's interpretation of his text.
"It was so amazing and unexpected," said Welch, a 6th-semester English and art history major. "My part is pure experience, and it's cut down so much. It's an incredible opportunity."
Despite this year's creative success, releasing one's poems to another artist isn't always easy, said Jennifer Holley, director of the program.
"[It's] a major leap for poets, some of whom have been known to lose sleep over line breaks," Holley said.
In previous years, the designers haven't always spoken at the unveiling, according to Sean Forbes, assistant director of the Creative Writing program. Asking each designer to speak allows the whole creative process to share the limelight.
The poems will appear across campus in the last week of August, Forbes said. Once posted, the poems will be rotated regularly, giving each poet-designer team multiple chances to show off their work.
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