The Poetry Machine, part of University Libraries’ effort to bring poetry to campus and the surrounding community during National Poetry Month, filled with free poems for patrons at Flour & Salt. (Photo by Charlotte Bristol)
The Poetry Machine is making its way around and Hamilton, N.Y., thanks to Colgate’s Upstate Institute and the University Libraries in partnership with the Adirondack Center for Writing (ACW).
The Poetry Machine is an old capsule machine, similar to those at convenience stores, where a quarter or two would release a small toy — but there’s no cost for the 10 different poems found inside. The machine is part of University Libraries’ effort to bring poetry to campus and the surrounding community during National Poetry Month.
Each capsule features a unique style of poetry, including haiku, cento, epistolary, list, ode, ekphrasis, prose poem, how-to, erasure, and cut-up from poets Julia Bloch, Erin Dorney, Camille T. Dungy, Ashley M. Jones, Lillian Klein, Laurie Kolp, Steven Leyva, Kathleen Lynch, Sasha Pimentel. Contributors all have a connection to the Adirondacks or to nature in some way.
The machine spent its first week on the third floor of the Case-Geyer, where more than 100 people retrieved a poem.
“It’s been so much fun to see students, faculty, and parents walk by the machine, pause, and give the machine a crank,” said Associate University Librarian and Director of Research and Scholarly Initiatives Joshua Finnell.
Finnell encouraged those with an appetite for more verse to check out the exhibit on the third floor of Case-Geyer and browse the library’s PS 3500 range for hundreds of poetry books.
After its initial stop at Case-Geyer, the Poetry Machine went to the Hamilton Public Library and then to Flour & Salt. It has moved on to Martha’s on Madison, April 20–26, and will return to campus at the Upstate Institute, April 27–30.
Once National Poetry Month closes out at the end of April, Finnell will return the Poetry Machine to its home at the Adirondack Writing Center. In the meanwhile, he says, “we hope people read more poetry.”
Feeling inspired after a visit to the Poetry Machine? Share your own poems by tagging the location, @colgateuniversitylibraries, @adkctr4writing, and #NationalPoetryMonth.