Out in the Open: The Poet Is In

Public Program Organizer Lightsey Darst checks in with us on Open Field and summertime

Name: Lightsey Darst
Occupation: Teacher/writer
City/Neighborhood: Minneapolis/Uptown
Open Field Activity: The Poet Is In
Description: Puzzled by poetry? Musing on metaphor? Wondering how to get your words’ worth? Here’s your chance to interact with a real live poet. The poet will happily talk about poetry, read a poem to you and your friends, explicate a poem of your choosing, help you write a poem, or even write a little poem for you. It’s your language: come play with it! (Poets vary daily.)
Dates of activity:  July 5, 2012, 5-8 pm, July 12, 2012, 5-8pm, July 21, 2012 1-4 pm, and July 28, 2012, 1-4 pm.

1. Fill-in-the-blank: _______________ is what we make together.

Art is what we make together.

2. What is your favorite public space in the Twin Cities or beyond?

I love the Lake Harriet Peace Garden. So beautiful and always restful.

3. What brought you to Open Field?

I’m interested in making what I do more open to the world at large. Contemporary poetry is playful, beautiful, open, exciting, moving, and it should be in more people’s lives. The flip side of that is that more people’s lives should be in contemporary poetry. This project explores that connection.

4. Describe your favorite summer memory.

I grew up in Florida, so most of my childhood was summer. Summer, sand, sweat, thunderstorms. Fireflies in the woods at night.

5. What other Open Field activity are you looking forward to this summer?

The Big String Thing!

6. What is your favorite summer song?

The sound of the ocean.