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Civic Poet Claudia Castro Luna launches interactive Poetic Map of Seattle

Poetic Map captures the people and poems of Seattle
Reading on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 from 7-8:30 p.m. at Open Books A Poem Emporium: 2414 North 45th Street, Seattle, WA 98103

 

Seattle Civic Poet, Claudia Castro Luna, launches a poetry map of the city. Seattle Poetic Grid (http://www.seattlepoeticgrid.com) is an interactive poetic cartography of the city and a culmination of Castro Luna’s two-year Civic Poet residency. The Grid brings Seattle’s poetic side to light. The project is intended to remain as a living testament of the city, and includes a link for those who would like to make their poetic contributions.

“The idea behind the map is to capture a sense of place through the poetic voices of Seattle residents. The poems come from citizens across every corner of the city, from individuals brand new to writing to some who are well established and beloved poets,” says Castro Luna.

Many of the poems were collected during Castro Luna’s “The Poet Is In” program, a residency project with Seattle Public Library where she held drop-in poetry writing sessions at various libraries around the city. Aside from English there are poems in Spanish, Arabic and Japanese. There is a wide spectrum of voices and experiences represented, from youth poets and elementary school writers, to senior citizens and renowned poets like Denise Levertov, Theodore Roethke and Richard Hugo.

In addition to the Poetic Grid and the residency with Seattle Public Libraries, Castro Luna has served for the past year and a half as a cultural ambassador for Seattle’s rich, multi-hued literary landscape. She has held and produced readings across the city in venues large and small and collaborated with a variety of cultural and social organizations such as The Seattle Symphony, Humanities Washington, El Centro de la Raza, Refugee Women’s Alliance, the Seattle Public Library, Seattle Art Museum and many others.

The public is invited to a reading with several of the contributing authors at Open Books Bookstore on June 28. Open Books A Poem Emporium: 2414 North 45th Street, Seattle, WA 98103 http://www.openpoetrybooks.com/event/launch-reading-poetic-map-of-seattle-with-claudia-castro-luna/

http://www.seattle.gov/arts/civic-poet