Pop up Poetry with Cindy Washabaugh

Heights Writes, the literary planning committee of Heights Arts which appoints the Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate, has launched "Pop-Up-Poetry," a series of summer poetry events. 

Pop Up arts events, very big in Europe, are now sweeping the U.S. Here today, gone tomorrow, pop-ups are one-of-a-kind, memorable experiences that cultivate the unexpected and the spontaneous and encourage audience participation.  In fact, pop-ups blur traditional boundaries between artist and audience.  Attendees, just by virtue of being there, are making art, and are also likely to sing, dance, and make music. 

Cavana Faithwalker, the current poet laureate of Cleveland Heights, as well as several other area poets will be on hand at each event, relating in a variety of ways to the public about poetry. Poets will soon use a portable booth, especially designed for Pop-Up Poetry by architect Theodore Ferringer and designers Patrick Doran and Jason Radcliffe. The booth-lectern-card table hybrid is a radical update of Lucy's "Psychiatric Help, 5 cents" stand.  Signs hanging on the booth will proclaim, among other things, "The Poet is IN."  

Meredith Holmes, 2005-2006 Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate, says, "Pop-Up Poetry is not a reading series; it's more of a series of poetry happenings - impromptu, poetry on the spot. There might not be another name for Pop-Up Poetry because we're in the process of inventing it."