P³ – Pandemic Poetry Project

The Art for All workshops continue into the summer of 2022! Introductory Weaving was held two Sundays in April, and it was so much fun and there was so much to learn, we extended it for two more Sundays!
And now we’re excited to announce our next workshop, spearheaded by QCC member (and our funding manager) Betsy Irwin, with Carissa Ervine—it’s called The Pandemic Poetry Project, or P³.

According to P³ coordinator Betsy Irwin, “We want to illuminate how poetry flows through our lives—from nursery rhymes to rap music. We’ll share different poetry forms and techniques to help writers create a format for their work. Using the pandemic as a general topic, I believe writers can offshoot into infinite forms. That said, we’ll encourage students to anchor their poems on positive outcomes such as our innate strength during difficult times, the process of surrender, lessons we learn, or changes in our collective beliefs.”

Each workshop has two sessions. Morning sessions are geared towards teens while afternoons are reserved for adults. Aspiring poets will be coached in the many ways that exist to express themselves in writing.

The second set of workshops will take the pandemic poetry off the paper—and will focus on presentation. “Performance, or even how a poem can be intertwined into other art forms, is as important as putting pen to paper,” says Irwin. Future workshops will explore the concepts of sound (phonetics) and meaning (morphs) separately, circling back around to connect them. Body language, costuming, and combining poetry into visual arts are other topics we will introduce as students decide the best approach to performing their writings.

Questa Farmer’s Market will host P³ poets on the first Sunday of each month, starting June 2. “Having recitals at local farmers markets is a great way to get the public and our poets ready for a hoped-for larger performance, as plans shape up into the fall,” Betsy says.

P³ also hopes to host a countywide poetry effort as the project expands, inviting poets to submit their work for jurying. Betsy and Carissa are developing accompanying lesson plans, making it easy for teachers to introduce the idea of submitting their work while adhering to New Mexico’s curriculum guidelines. “We also want home-schoolers involved in the project,” Irwin remarked. “This will be a great way to help parent-teachers to round out their kids’ English program in a unique, community-oriented way.”

According to Alberta Bouyer, board director for the Questa Creative Council, “We are so happy to re-start our Art-for-All workshop series at the Youth and Family Center after a long pandemic hiatus. This summer is shaping up to be varied and exciting. The P³ workshop will be a terrific one, with much potential for related efforts. Stay tuned!”

Day on the Questa History Trail. If you haven’t yet experienced the easily walkable .6 mile route, this will be the perfect time, so come along! Enjoy traditional treats, music, guest experts, and the company of your neighbors.

This trail was built for you. Its signs put into words what every Questeño can be proud of. The history and culture of our small village, interestingly, includes almost every topic in the bigger picture of northern New Mexico’s story. Come discover this for yourself.