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In a city where rivers float in the sky
braiding through cedars & buildings like a sentence in a poem
rivers rise as raindrops.
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Often people experience poetry as being rarified or not for them and
I think the poems that are in this campaign are very accessible
and approachable but not only that so deeply grounded in place
and a sense of belonging that, these are poems that I hope
people will see themselves in.
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[Shin Yu Pai] It entails activating seven different sites around the city.
And the poems were very much about different neighborhoods
and communities here in Seattle.
(crow caws)
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[Shin Yu Pai] You know maybe a good question to ask
is why this language in this place?
What is specific to the poem and what connects it to this place?
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[Shin Yu Pai] Putting poetry in the public space gives poetry the opportunity
to be a tool that slows people down, that surprises them
often with the kind of language that they may be encountering and
I think it’s just a way to create an experience for people that
can be meaningful and collective.
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