Pedestrian poetry

Annual contest gets community thinking about how to make its mark on the streets of St. Paul with original poetry

Issue date: 3/9/10 Section: Local

<b>Winners of the St. Paul Annual Sidewalk Poetry Contest have had their works imprinted into the sidewalks all over the city for the last two years. This poem can be found between Juliet and Jefferson Avenue on the sidewalk of South Macalester Street. </b>

Winners of the St. Paul Annual Sidewalk Poetry Contest have had their works imprinted into the sidewalks all over the city for the last two years. This poem can be found between Juliet and Jefferson Avenue on the sidewalk of South Macalester Street.

It is easy not to notice the sidewalk - the seemingly never-ending stretches of off-white concrete that seldom offer any excitement worthy of conversation.

Next time you wander over the sidewalks of St. Paul, watch where you're walking - there might be a bit of art underneath your feet.

This spring marks the beginning of the third annual St. Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest, an event that promotes community arts in local neighborhoods.

All residents are encouraged to submit a short poem by the end of March for consideration in the contest.

Out of the total submissions, 20 winners will be chosen to receive a $150 cash prize and have their poetry stamped into freshly repaired sidewalks in the city.

St. Paul's Artist in Residence, Marcus Young, was the creator of the unique event. Young said he was inspired by the words stamped in the corner of a slab of sidewalk, identifying the company that supplied the concrete.

He said he wondered whether the same technology could be used to make a bigger stamp that could publish the words of St. Paul residents onto the walkways.

"This strip of land runs through the entire city," Young said. "It's ordinary, but if you take a fresh look at it, it can be something different."

Young said he hopes the engraved poems remind people that the public realm can be a beautiful place.

Young said the sidewalks of St. Paul are like blank pieces of paper that we should start writing on.

"We all have the desire to put our mark in wet concrete and put our mark where we live," he said. "We want to express ourselves."

Last year, Young said, the project was met with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from the public.

The contest received over 2,000 entries, which exceeded the expectations he said that he had for the event.

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