If you love poetry, the signs are everywhere

O, Miami Poetry Festival gets underway with a new public art initiative: “Soy de Todas Partes.”

The civic publishing project provides a deep dive into the modern immigrant experience through 100 student poems as public artworks placed in public spaces across Miami-Dade County and is intended to take an acupuncture approach toward poetry as public art to celebrate the richness and vitality of Miami’s majority-minority community.

O, Miami has also partnered with venues like the Miami Beach Bandshell and enlisted the services of artists and tradespeople to make the project come to life. People driving east across the MacArthur Causeway, walking the streets of downtown or sailing the waterways will be able to see and experience the student-read poems.

“Soy de Todas Partes” is not just a public art project, it’s a year-long conversation starter and a way to provoke much-needed empathy and healing through the power of poetry, said Melody Santiago Cummings, the festival’s executive co-director. The mural-like installations kick off a month-long celebration of poetry.

“This April, we invite you to experience – and shape – O, Miami. Write a poem, join a workshop, or stumble upon poetry in unexpected places,” she added. “Swap stories and clothing, get a tattoo with a new friend, or find poetry in the cosmos, the coral reefs, or a quilt. Honor the past, celebrate the present, and dream up the future with us. Whether you’re skateboarding, shucking oysters, mothering, or dancing through your grief, there’s a place for you here – come make the festival yours.”

The O, Miami Poetry Festival runs through April 30 and features over 40 events, performances, and interactive experiences.

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