Poetry Programs
April is National Poetry Month. Come join in all our poetry programs for 2024.
Poetry Walk: Sunday, April 14th, in the Fern Hill Neighborhood, starting at 5pm
Sidewalk Poetry Program: submissions due Sunday, May 12th
Poetry Jam: Thursday, May 9th, at the Wolfe Park Building, starting at 7pm
Fern Hill Poetry Walk: Sun April 14th, 5pm
The Fern Hill Neighborhood Association, in conjunction with the SLP Friends of the Arts invites you a Fern Hill Poetry Walk at 5:00 pm, Sunday, April 14, starting at the corner of 26th St. and Quentin Ave. We will walk west on 26th to Toledo, south to 27th, east to Quentin, south to 28th, and west to Toledo to see the 15 sidewalk poems installed last year. Several of the poets will be on the walk to read and explain their poems.
All are welcome – adults, kids, pets, and you don’t have to live in Fern Hill (or even SLP) to join the walk. If there is no on-street parking, Beth El Synagogue has graciously allowed us to use the east portion of their parking lot (Barry St. & 26th).
Sidewalk Poetry Program: Applications open now, due Sun, May 12th
Through the City of St. Louis Park's sidewalk poetry program, residents, students, workers or those who have another meaningful connection to St. Louis Park are eligible to submit up to two original short poems or excerpts to be sandblasted into sidewalks throughout the city. Poetry in all languages is welcome.
Sidewalk poetry builds a sense of local identity and creates unexpected moments of pause, contemplation and reflection for pedestrians. There is no submission fee, and no compensation is given. Up to two original poems or excerpts will be accepted per person.
Poetry Jam: Thurs May 9th, Wolfe Park building, 7pm
Come to our Spring Poetry Jam! SLP Friends of the Arts hosts bi-annual Poetry Jams. These are all ages, family friendly, all languages, all forms poetry event.
Come read your own original poetry, poetry from poets you enjoy, or just listen to poetry.
Sidewalk Poetry 2023
In October 2023,16 new poems were sandblasted in our community's sidewalks for the most recent iteration of the Sidewalk Poetry Project!
In 2023, 77 different residents submit 114 unique, original poems for consideration. All applicants either live in St. Louis Park, or have some connection to the City. From that pool of applicants, a committee of local writers and City staff came together and selected 16 poems.
Head over to the Fern Hill neighborhood -- between Toledo Ave and Quentin Ave, and between W 26th St. and W 29th St., with one poem in front of a gazebo in nearby Twin Lakes Park -- and see all 16 new poems for yourself!
This was the third iteration of the Sidewalk Poetry Project. To see the former iterations of the Sidewalk Poetry Project, click on the City of St. Louis Park's interactive public art map.