Art Chowder November | December, Issue 18 | Page 68

Poet Laureate Mark Anderson
has been working hard to help community
members engage with poetry. This summer, Anderson launched a series of
neighborhood LitCrawls, bringing poetry and prose to where people live. Each
event features short readings at three to four local venues within a short distance
of one another. The first LitCrawl was held in East Central’s Perry District, where
over 70 people attended. At each venue, two writers share short pieces of their
own prose or poetry, while the audience enjoys snacks or beverages from the
local establishments. In partnership with Spokane Arts, Anderson has also hosted
LitCrawls in the Logan and North Hill neighborhoods. In addition to creating
opportunities for local poets to read their work, Anderson also hosts free ekphrastic
writing workshops in Chase Gallery, where attendees write work inspired in by
the artwork on exhibit, then share their poems during First Friday receptions at the
gallery. Anderson’s newest initiative, in partnership with the Spokane City Council,
is Poetry at the Podium, which will incorporate the work of local poets into every
city council meeting of the 2019 calendar year. Spokane Arts will host an open
call for poets to submit a single poem they’d like to read at the beginning of a city
council meeting. The goal of the program is to incorporate poetry into the daily lives
of the community, and to create an opportunity for a wide range of voices to share
their work.
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ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE