Pops of poetry: bring the definition of ‘street art’ to life

Poems of many different languages sprawl across the sidewalks of St. Paul. Photo courtesy of Public Art Saint Paul

You’re walking through the streets of the Twin Cities — the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the first thing that catches your eye is the colorful murals that splatter the sides of the buildings or maybe the cartoonish graffiti that covers the street signs. The Twin Cities are no stranger to the craft of street art and are always thinking up new ways to get creative.

The city of Saint Paul has joined forces with Public Art Saint Paul to bring a fresh and creative look to the new city sidewalks by hosting the 2021 Sidewalk Poetry Contest. 

The 2021 Sidewalk Poetry Contest will be giving Saint Paul residents the opportunity to win prizes for their writing and to get their poems stamped into the sidewalks that fill the city. 

The original project was founded in 2008 by Marcus Youn, a Saint Paul artist. Since then, they have stamped over 1,000 poems throughout the cities in multiple languages, such as English, Dakota, Spanish, Hmong and Somali. 

According to Public Art Saint Paul, “sidewalk poetry brilliantly piggybacks onto an unassuming yet essential City service — a $1 million program in our City’s Public Works Department that repairs 10 miles of sidewalk each year.” 

Although the expression is endless when it comes to poetry, there are a few important rules that the Sidewalk Poetry Contest has put into place — the poem can be no more than 300 words, you have to be a resident of Saint Paul, a singular writer can only turn in two poems and poems need to include appropriate subject matter for people of all ages. 

The City of Saint Paul is hoping to fill up all the sidewalks throughout the city to create a visual, city-wide book representing the unique art and community that is Saint Paul. 

You can take a look at some sidewalks that have already been stamped by checking out the Public Art Sidewalk Poetry map where you can see poetry locations and read the existing poems.

The deadline to turn in poetry for the contest is April 25. For more information on how to submit pieces of writing visit Sidewalk Poetry at Public Art Saint Paul.