O, Miami Festival Proves Anyone Can Be a Poet

A year ago, Valentina Mena moved to Miami Beach from Villa Maria, Argentina.

When she entered her sophomore year at Miami Beach Senior High School, a new school in a new country, she says she found it daunting. Then a poetry workshop hosted at the school by O, Miami gave her an outlet to express her feelings.

She says that words flowed from her pen onto her paper, collecting in a pool of thoughts and memories that contained the sentiments of her heart.

“The poem reflects the things that I went through,” said Mena.

The bilingual poem, titled “My Home, Mi Hogar,” is inspired by Mena’s experiences as an immigrant and its message has so strongly resonated with others, it has taken on a life of its own.

Her piece is now part of O, Miami’s 12th Annual Poetry Festival, with the goal of every single person in Miami-Dade County encountering a poem. Selected lines from Mena’s poem are emblazoned on two 3-million-gallon water storage tanks at the Miami Beach Public Works Department, located at 451 Dade Blvd. One tank presents the work in English, while the other in Spanish, with a brightly colored design where words are spun around the tanks.

The mural on one water tower has the words: “Finding My Home in Every Voice That I Hear,” while the second reads, “Hay Un Hogar En Cada Voz Que Eschucho.”

“I am completely grateful,” Mena said, about her poetry being selected.

The murals were designed by the multidisciplinary collective Boa Mistura; Mena’s fellow high school students helped paint sections of them.

“It’ll be a long-term installation for Miami Beach residents, but also residents of Miami-Dade County to view and take a little joy from while they’re passing by,” said Melissa Gomez, O, Miami’s communications director.

Another public display of poetry from O, Miami was also culled from submissions for the [Your Poem Here] contest, which placed poetry on a billboard at NE 8th Street and Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami.

The winning poem was by Little Havana resident Luz Rossy, whose ode is about her grandmother, who is also named Luz.

For Rossy, the contest turned her flirtation with poetry into a full-blown affair. The library assistant at the Westchester Library Health and Wellness Information Center dates her passion for prose back to when she was in the sixth grade.

“And ever since then, I fell in love with just the artistry of turning everyday life into love on a page,” she said.

So, when she heard about the contest she jumped at the chance.

The campaign was held in partnership with WLRN Public Media and O, Miami which together invented the poetic form called “Zip Ode,” a five-line poem that corresponds to the numbers in one’s ZIP code.

Rossy’s ZIP code is 33125:

(3) ”My name came

(3) from my abuela

(1) and

(2) she said

(5) we can share it forever.”

Katie Cohen, engagement editor at WLRN, said that Rossy’s enthusiastic response wasn’t the only one they received. Her entry was just one of more than 1,500 entries.

“It’s incredibly overwhelming and powerful,” said Cohen. “There has been a lot of support from the community.”

The poems, she says, covered a range of topics.

“There are odes to dogs, to traffic, to palm trees, to cats, to mangoes, to iguanas … The themes

stretch from the sun to the beach,” said Cohen. “It’s a really special way to communicate. It’s like a love letter to your neighborhood.”

For those who didn’t submit a Zip Ode, there’s still the opportunity to submit words of art through two touring projects that will show up around Miami.

El Palacio de los Recuerdos Project by Melissa Guitierrez, a miniature replica of the signature Cuban and Latin restaurant with its unmistakable yellow background and red stripes, will be at various locations, where people will be asked to write and contribute words of art. The miniature is meant to serve as a memory bank, of sorts.

Another festival event where poetry serves as a backdrop to imagery is “Portrait at 34” by Miami-based artist Najja Moon. The project involves a custom-designed photo booth, which produces portraits of participants that are then combined with age-based poetry submitted by local poets and students.

The installation was inspired by the death of Moon’s cousin, poet Kamilah Aisha Moon.

“She was an incredible poet,” said Moon. “For me, it’s about Aisha. To be able to introduce people to her work is an honor.”

The O, Miami 12th Annual Poetry Festival runs now through May 12. Most exhibitions are free of charge. For a full list of activities visit OMiami.org.

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