6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS POETRY MONTH Poetry Month 2023 —read a poem in A2, write a poem in Ypsi CYNTHIA PRICE Editor Tree Town transforms into PoetTreeTown for the entire month of April in honor of National Poetry Month. Ann Arbor’s inaugural “community celebration event” matches up poets and local businesses to spread the love of poetry. Look closely in the windows of Ann Arbor businesses and enterprises to see a wide variety of poetic genres displayed on simple letter-size white sheets. Venues include 826michigan, Avalon Café and Bakery, Blake Transit Center, Bløm Meadworks, Blue Tractor, BonBonBon, Cherry Republic, Dawn Treader, Downtown Home and Garden, Found, Grizzly Peak, Jolly Pumpkin, the Downtown Library, Third Mind Books, Vault of Midnight and Vinology, but keep a sharp eye out and you will find many more. According to PoetTreeTown organizer Cameron Finch, a University of Michigan graduate who moved on to get her MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts, “For me this is a labor of love, but I’ve also seen so much community effort by the businesses and poets who’ve been involved.” Finch was inspired in part by VCFA’s home, Montpelier, VT. “There’s so much appreciation of arts and culture – such a spirit of celebrating the talent within the town and sharing it with others.” Viewing Ann Arbor as a similar milieu, she decided to help “increase the community’s free access to art” as well as to deepen her own familiarity with what is going on in the local poetry scene. “It was important to me to have many voices represented. The current poetry industry has so many gatekeepers,” she says. “I liked the idea of just coming around a corner and finding a poem.” Each installation includes a QR code which when scanned allows viewers to hear the poet read it. Poems are also featured on the group’s Facebook (www.facebook.com/ PoetTreeTownA2) and Instagram pages. There will also be a live event in celebration, coming up quickly. On April 8 at 8:00 p.m., Third Mind Books, purveyor of Beat Generation classics and rare first editions, will join PoetTreeTown for a free Open Mic. Not to be outdone, Ypsilanti will celebrate in a number of National Poetry Month events. Among them, the wonderful folks at Ypsi Writes want to help you become a poet yourself with two workshops. On April 15 see CELEBRATE page 8 Poet Tree Town Ann Arbor | April 2023 Subconsciousness / Consciousness In this auditorium And narrow Silence beside huge Shadows are frozen In a web on dust besides grotesque masks, props Hideousness on the Mirror reflects True form unclouded as uncave unburied alive Still light showing life real window curtains wide open see peer look the dancers are here ego the dancers are here! —Christopher Ellis View the PoetTreeTown Map PoetTreeTownA2@gmail.com IG: @poettreetown_a2 | #PoetTreeTown Look for Christopher Ellis's, Groundcover vendor No. 483, poem around A2! APRIL 7, 2023 Listen to the poem here! THANK YOU WASHTENAW COUNTY For supporting recovery Accessing substance use treatment should be quick and easy. Millage resources have helped simplify the process. LEMONT GORE FORMER STREET OUTREACH COORDINATOR UNIFIED HIV HEALTH AND BEYOND 24/7 CALL FOR MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE USE SUPPORT 734-544-3050 Brought to you by the 2019 - 2026 Washtenaw County Public Safety and Mental Health Preservation Millage washtenaw.org/millage
7 Publizr Home