Wanderworld – Poems in a Bottle
Courtyard C | All Weekend
Family-friendly Fun!
Woody’s Hoping Machine
The note of hope is the only note that can keep us from falling to the bottom of the heap of evolution because, largely, about all a human being is anyway is just a hoping machine.
~ Woody Guthrie
An homage to the masterpiece album, Mermaid Avenue and Woody Guthrie’s legend, his music, and his lifelong song for social justice and celebration of the “people’s power,” WanderWord invites participants to engage in poem-making as a way to unite and lift our collective spirits. Guthrie, being the impetus for Mermaid Avenue which will be performed in its entirety on Friday night, is directly tied to our focus to bring hope and empowerment to festivalgoers this Solid Sound. Guthrie’s enduring voice calls to action everyday people to use their voices and build a robust personal and public landscape of freedom and speech.
Poems in a Bottle!
Have you ever found a message in a bottle? Unrolling its scroll, hoping for synchronistic words to speak to your hopes and dreams. Or maybe you were the one who tossed the bottle to the waves – from your soul’s island inviting connection. Participants will have the option to find a poem via 500-1000 pre-written and on-site generated festival-specific poems stuffed into small, labeled bottles and hidden around campus. The messages will speak to the surrounding music, general messages of hope and positivity, cast into an ocean of Solid Sounders. Find these uplifting treasures as keepers, give them away to a stranger or friend – it’s up to the lucky finder! At the WanderWord Hub, participants will have the chance to compose their own Poem in a Bottle with a WanderWord Poetry Guide – which will then be hidden across the campus by our team.
Coney Island Scavenger Map – Walk with Woody
Inspired by Woody Guthrie’s work written when he lived on Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island, participants can follow a colorful Coney Island Scavenger Map inviting them to walk with Woody throughout the Coney Island neighborhood ala MASS MoCA campus. Five Coney Island Stops in total will direct participants throughout the campus to create an eco-system of poetry.
Each Coney Stop along the way will be an opportunity to engage with specially tailored poetic prompts that introduce them to various poetic forms such as Zip-Odes, Blackout Poems, Star Sevlins, Cascade Poems, etc. Several Poetry Typists will attend Coney Stops, other Stops will provide directions and writing materials.
Prompts will focus on themes connected with Guthrie’s Coney Island muse – think Wonder Wheel, boardwalk, hot dogs, a musical collusion of cultures – while capturing the site-specific vibe and imagery of the Solid Sound Music Festival. Interesting Woody Guthrie tidbits about his life in Coney Island and his lyrics as prompts will inspire and illuminate poets-to-be.
At several Coney Stop, participants will be able to take their freshly created poems, stuff them into a small bottle and toss it down a Poetry Message Tubes. Once the Poem in a Bottle gets to ground level, it triggers a bell and raises a flag. Signage at the landing lets passersby know there is a message waiting to be read. A sign at the barrel asks any curious passers-by to open a bottle – keep it, pass it on, or hide it somewhere for another to find.
Go Coney Island will offer festivalgoers the unique experience of dipping into Guthrie’s Mermaid Avenue, learning about his life, while generating original, place-based Solid Sound/MASS MoCA experience informed poems. Finding and generating Poems in a Bottle, Solid Sounders will find and send messages of hope to each other while bringing to life Woody’s Hoping Machine.
