Boston has been hit with a lot of rain lately, but at least there’s a silver lining to the spring showers: Poems show up on the city sidewalks.
The city of Boston announced Thursday that a new round of Raining Poetry has been installed in neighborhoods across the city.
The Raining Poetry installations were first launched in 2016 and are a project of the city’s Office of Arts and Culture in partnership with Mass Poetry, the Mayor’s Mural Crew and the Boston Arts Commission.
Poems are stenciled on city sidewalks with water-repellent spray. They’re hidden during any dry weather and magically emerge when it begins to rain.
It’s Raining Poetry on the streets of Boston. Check out the new locations for these fun art installations: https://t.co/HTOwWs8Hph pic.twitter.com/7WOgJL6xRZ
— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) May 25, 2017
“Raining Poetry brings the art of poetry directly to the neighborhoods,” said Julie Burros, the city’s chief of Arts and Culture, in a statement. “The messages of the poets are invisible, unveiled only when it rains, providing a surprising and unique opportunity for individuals to interact with art in their everyday lives.”
The new installations feature seven poems. Here’s where to spot them:
Poem: “Mnemonic” by Charles Coe
Locations: Boston Public Library Copley (both sides of the main entrance)
America’s Food Basket, 926 Cummins Highway, Mattapan
Mildred Avenue Community Center, Mattapan
Poem: “Prms” by Mary Buchinger Bodwell
Locations: Temple Street bus stop, Downtown Boston
Charles and Boylston streets by the Edgar Allan Poe statue, Boston
Poem: “A Dictionary of Limbo” by Jennifer Militello
Locations: Dudley Cafe, 15 Warren St., Roxbury
Burke School, 60 Washington St., Dorchester
Flat Black Coffee, 1906 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester
Poem: “Dia del Esplendor y la Abundancia” by Rosario Castellanos
Location: Near the Mexican Consulate at the corner of Franklin and Hawley streets, Downtown Crossing
Poem: “Coda” by Tanya Larkin
Location: Haymarket Square and Congress Street at the Public Market, Government Center
Poem: “The Red Light” by Liam Day
Location: Corner of Mass. Avenue and Boylston Street, NE corner (turnpike side), Back Bay
Poem: “Give me That Light!” by Mary Clare Powell
Locations: Curtis Hall, Sedgwick Street, Jamaica Plain
Boston Common crosswalk to Public Garden, Boston
In total, 16 poems have been installed on city sidewalks so far. The featured poems were chosen “based on their connections to the installation sites and in support of poets with ties to Boston,” the city said. Find more information about Raining Poetry here.