TART, Michigan Writers chalk poetry on Leelanau Trail
From staff reports
Bikers and runners on the Leelanau Trail, which stretches 18 miles between Traverse City and Suttons Bay, encountered an extra thrill in the days after June 22. TART Trails—whose network includes the Leelanau Trail—and Michigan Writers teamed up to chalk poems by five writers: Lois Beardslee, Ari Mokdad, Jen Steinorth, Yvonne Stephens and Mae Stier. Created with stainless steel stencil sheets and marked on the trail with chalk dust, the poems left every few miles were expected to last two to four weeks, depending on the weather, and they may be reinstalled in August.
Heavy rains on June 25 may have washed some of the chalk away and “gave some poems an ephemeral quality,” said Caitlin Early, TART’s campaign and development officer who also manages the “Art on the TART” initiative. Public art on the Leelanau Trail also includes a sculpture by the late Bart Ingram near Shady Lane and may soon include Bill Allen’s work on the cedar tunnel.
“Folks were initially surprised to see text on the trail,” said Early. “It forced people to use other parts of their brains as they recreate.”
The feedback TART received from trail users was mostly positive. Though one person commented on Facebook that the size of the text was too small; another erroneously thought the chalked poems were evidence of vandalism.
“This was a great way to have a conversation about public art and ruminate on how humans engage with natural settings,” said Early. “I’m grateful for the regional poets we were able to choose from. Hopefully this was just a pilot project.”
The five writers included: Beardslee, an award-winning Ojibwe author and illustrator and the first Native American to win the Michigan Notable Book Award, for her latest book, Words Like Thunder; Mokdad, a Detroit-born poet, writer, choreographer, dancer, and educator; Steinorth, whose recent books include A Wake with Nine Shades and Her Read, A Graphic Poem; Stephens, whose recent chapbook is titled The Salt Before It Shakes, and Stier, a writer, photographer, and frequent contributor to this newspaper, who lives in Empire.
“I am grateful for the ways that TART Trails works to bring art to their spaces,” said Stier. “It adds a unique element of connection and contemplation to these trails, inviting users to pause and reflect. While of course the natural world is always a space for contemplation, sometimes we humans need a little help to slow down. The Poetry on the LT project brings writing to a space where it isn’t expected, and I hope that whether commuting, exercising, or simply wandering, those who encounter the poems feel enriched by the words, and that they inspire an even deeper connection to the natural beauty surrounding the trails. I am honored to have a poem featured alongside the other talented poets.”
