We finally hosted our Jupiter Centennial-themed Spatial Poetry event, to much success! Here’s a little write-up about it:
Staff Sessions
I hosted two sessions of spatial poetry to show staff how it’s run and to have some fun. We had all departments represented (circulation, youth services, and adult services) and everyone had a blast. Some even commented on how they felt they could de-stress during the activity. Three staff gave me their maps as examples to use for the public program.
Public Session
The Town of Jupiter gave us a box of commemorative maps for the centennial. We offered these to the public along with some older expired maps, but everyone chose the Jupiter map. Most did highlight the library as one of their favorite places, one going so far as to call it “the true civic center” of the town.
Unsurprisingly, not one person viewed Jupiter the same way; everyone, from adults to kindergarteners, created their own personal Jupiter. The adults were more advanced, not only highlighting and coloring the places that meant something to them but also writing short lines to go with them. The kids colored in places that they loved to go; they were confused at first, but we had them start with coloring in their elementary school. After a while, they got the hang of it.
Three stories stand out: one is of a kid who didn’t know what to color. He had a cat, so I suggested he color in the places he thought his cat would like to visit. He loved this prompt! He not only colored in the good places, he also colored out the “bad” places (a place that sold chocolate was one, and the iconic lighthouse was another: “millions of people visit there every day, and she’d get scared”). He added a legend and even expanded the map to include his hometown.
The other is an adult who comes to all my makerspace programs but almost didn’t come to this one because “it involved poetry”. She nevertheless created a map in blues and greens showcasing places that meant something to her, but she kept saying it’s “an example of what not to do”. I told her the map was beautiful and that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do this, just her way. Even though she insisted she didn’t do a good job, she said she still had a lot of fun.
Finally, a mother took some materials for her son, who she said loved maps and would love this activity. I gave her the PLIX zine as well as our in-house handout, and she was very thankful.
Afterthoughts
This was a very successful program. Both staff and patrons loved it and everyone created beautiful works of art. I loved how so many people approached Jupiter with different sets of eyes and feelings, and how that translated into “their” personal Jupiter. My supervisor wants to hang the maps in the library for poetry month, and I may develop a passive version of this to accompany it.
I definitely want to run this again, as the centennial runs yearlong, perhaps as part of our systemwide writing series in October and November.
I have brochures and maps from all over Florida, and I grab more every time I take the Turnpike. Even if they get outdated, they’re still extremely useful.