The switch!

After my unsuccessful visit to Planned Parenthood, I swung by Neighborhood Music School to take the display out and transport it to its next-door neighbor institution, Koffee. I had talked to the owner of Koffee last week and she seemed interested in the project. I emailed her photos of the display and an invite to the blog but hadn't heard from her. As it was a rare day when I had access to vehicular transport, I decided to drop off the display anyway and let her reject it if she chose to.

Somehow, I wasn't surprised to see that the display was missing from its station in the NMS lobby. I hadn't been consistently in touch with Lisa there for quite some time -- she seemed slightly pessimistic with how the project was going, as well as too busy to keep tabs on it or take photos. The receptionist directed me to the display's new location, which was on the table in the hallway (the place I'd left it the first day I dropped it off, which was later changed in an effort to get more participation). The large sketchpad and markers, which I had left to there the last time I'd visited, were gone, and the receptionist had no information as to where. Another instance of stealing?! In this case, it made more sense. Those markers were brand new -- I'm sure some wily child stuffed them into his or her backpack and had a heyday with coloring books.

I took the display outside. For some reason, all the words had been transferred to the back side of the bookend.

The one line of poetry I could make out was:

protect beneath that heart

Bookend, new disposable camera, and new notebook in hand, I popped next door to Koffee. I explained the situation to the man behind the counter and he seemed excited about the idea. I'm still awaiting the owner's ultimate OK but it seems fine for now. We attached the camera and notepad with ribbon to the display. The guy asked me to put a little explanation of the project behind the display in case people wanted to know. I preferred to not have that but I put up a description of a community art project meant to be an outlet for spontaneous and free creation. I also suggested that people write their creations in the notebook, take pictures with the camera provided, OR take pictures with their cellphones and email them to me. The guy suggested that last option, and I think that for the clientele there it makes sense. There are many a camera phone about and many a reader/student/ostensibly creative type who might actually be interested enough to take a picture and send it to me.

However, I do feel prejudiced that I will not leave my email address in the laundromat. It feels somehow riskier, a more public exposition than in Koffee. I think that I'm guilty of trusting people with laptops and books, and I'm sort of embarrassed by that fact.

Planned Parenthood

I recently e-mailed Deanna to ask how the poetry experiment was going at PP. I did so somewhat shamefacedly; given the turmoil PP has been going through recently at the prospect of losing federal funding, I was hesitant to add anything else to Deanna's plate. She said that she had continued to take some photos but that activity had been slowing down. I told her that I'd come with a new display that had new words and asked if this project could in any way help the PP cause. She said probably not but to call my senators in support of PP. I still want to think of anything that might link this project to some sort of campaign for PP.

The next day, she emailed me to say that someone had walked away with the notebook of recorded poems. Quite a shame to lose all that but it is also befuddling and fascinating as to why someone would do that. I'm inclined to think that the thief didn't take the notebook out of a desperate need to possess this poetry, but I cannot think of another reason to steal a partially used notebook. Maybe just the temptation of seeing something easily pilfered was too overwhelming?

I arrived today at PP with the display that had been at the laundromat to make the switch, but alas! It had been long closed. So I will have to go back soon.

The laundromat, February 26

Today, I went in and told a young Latina employee I'd never seen before that the display was "mine" and that I was going to change it (I wanted to get a new batch of words out). She looked at me bemused as I extracted the bookend from under various bottles of hand sanitizer resting on its flat part. I always just feel so silly identifying myself as the proprietor of this display when I'm in the laundromat!

I took a photo of the board as I took it away from its home. Again, it is challenging to tell what lines have actually been created by a human hand and which -- if any -- go together. Here is my attempt:

love
protect me money smell
these
she dream we grow trust crime

trust you

The laundromat, February 23

Maria called me "honey" multiple times today. Also, there was new poetry.

Notebook says:

trust or wisdom first could grow between community police

And in another hand:

question, dream, secret, love, trust me!

Never Fear Protect Human Opportunity

Job, money, diffucult [sic], home

we do safe over crime

The board has some isolated phrases...it's hard to tell what's a conscious creation and what's random, and which lines go together, but here is my curation:

love me
over money
protect these
grow some trust
easy than money


difficult
never
here
search
first

NMS/PPSE

I still have to call Koffee's owners, go move the NMS display there if they are interested, and switch up the PPSE poetry board. I have a feeling that I will continue to postpone these ventures, which involve long walks. This week, I must do these things.

The laundromat, February 12

There was a lot of poetry very neatly arranged.

It says:
question police
you dream than search for wisdom first grow trust
love never fear or trust soon these protect home
human
over
money

smell between difficult crime some say

community could do him easy
was
she
home
as
money
did
they lock
villain
me

help
black
community
here
white
opportunity
we
enter
safe
job
cooperation

The laundromat, February 8

Maria wasn't there today - the counter was manned (womanned?) by a young Latina woman. I had once come in to ask her if putting up the display would be OK, but she didn't remember me.

"Is this yours?" she asked, smiling a little.

I felt sort of embarrassed. "Yeah..." I thought about explaining the project a little but went with some awkward empty phrase like, "It's...funny."

The notebook had nothing new written in it and was really far back on the counter (were the employees using it?). The woman saw me looking at it.

"They stole pages?"

"Yeah..."

The poems on the board are:

you never love me

safe
dream grow than
money first smell

home
could these
trust
was for fear job did human
they black

Planned Parenthood/Neighborhood Music School

Deanna's emails report little activity at PP. Her camera now has about 9 or 10 photos of poetry. I'm wondering if I should go change up the displays at all three sites.

No word from Neighborhood Music School. It might be a worthy experiment to move the display to Koffee. I haven't yet called the owners to clear it with them, but the cashier seemed enthusiastic enough that I have high hopes.

The laundromat, January 31

Today, I went in and found some poetry on the board. As I made my way over to the display, I dropped a pack of gum. Maria grabbed it up joyously and proclaimed, "You dropped your GUM!!" We laughed together, although I'm not sure either of us knew why. As I took pictures with my phone, the news on the TV announced the coming storm. I moaned about it, and Maria said that it was no big deal for her, that she walked anyway. "You're stronger than I am!" I said. It was a strange instance of camaraderie over gum and snow.

I had also seen Maria delivering laundry a few days earlier in my apartment building. She had recognized me and had said hello. I was heartened that she acknowledged me outside my usual context, although I'm not sure why I was surprised by it. I find myself avoiding hellos with particularly vague acquaintances but Maria clearly is not swayed by this inexplicable social tendency.

But back to the laundromat. I also took a picture of the terse addition of "Brazil" in the notebook. A lot of the previously written poetry has also been ripped out.

The poem on the board says:

dream
could between
we safe say
she as
you lock
did
trust these
help home
cooperation me opportunity
some here
over easye
grow enter
money job
difficult do
wisdom
community soon
never
for

smell first home community crime
police fear black human the
love white villainy