Harwood

Through a singular collaboration with the City of Albuquerque Public Art Program, the Albuquerque Poetry Slam Council and the Downtown Neighborhoods Association, Harwood has created a space dedicated to bringing performance poetry and the literary arts into the community. Originally one semester’s academic/community exercise at the University of New Mexico School of Architecture, the concept of a Poets’ Plaza spoke so strongly to community participants that a process was set in motion to make it a reality. Funding was sought from the 1% for Art Program and the neighborhood association and an easement of land was granted by Escuela del Sol/Harwood allowing the project to proceed.

We have created a space for poetry on the grounds of an historic school building that is gradually being rehabilitated into a contemporary, community arts center in the middle of a primarily working class/minority neighborhood. We all recognize that we must be mindful of our community and our environment and most importantly, of our commitment to make a place that becomes an affirmation, as Roque Dalton writes, “…que la poesia es como el pan, de todos.” (…that poetry, like bread, is for everyone).