The Westmoreland picks 4 poets for Greensburg bridge art project
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The Westmoreland Museum of American Art has chosen four Southwestern Pennsylvania writers to be featured on artist Janet Zweig’s “Analog Scroll,” as part of the Museum’s ongoing Bridging the Gap public art project.
Located on the North Main Street Bridge in downtown Greensburg, Zweig’s work uses three-dimensional letters on tracks fastened to the bridge’s concrete walls to reveal text through a manual scrolling process.
Each writer will create original text that will relate to the site specifically, the concept of bridges or bridging, or the idea of bridging the gap between the museum, downtown Greensburg and surrounding neighborhoods or communities. Each writer’s text will appear over the course of one year, from February to February, with new stanzas installed monthly.
The four selected writers and the schedule for their text to appear are:
• Fred Shaw, February 2021-22. Shaw is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Carlow University, where he received his MFA. He teaches writing and literature at Carlow and Point Park University. His first full-length collection of poetry, “Scraping Away,” was published this year by CavanKerry Press. He is the author of a chapbook, “Argot,” and poems that have appeared in numerous publications. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife and rescued hound dog.
• Sarah Williams-Devereux, February 2022-23. Williams-Devereux’s work frequently draws upon her background — multiracial African American, Buddhist, abuse survivor living with chronic mental and physical illness — to explore issues of race, sexuality, human connection, compassion, mental illness and recovery. She leads poetry workshops for the Madwomen in the Attic Creative Writing Workshops at Carlow and is managing editor for the annual Madwomen anthology, “Voices from the Attic.” She is pursuing her MA in teaching writing from Johns Hopkins University and is a member of the Pittsburgh Poetry Society. Her poetry has appeared in various publications.
• Joy Katz, February 2023-24. Katz is a poet and essayist whose previous collections include the National Poetry Series finalist “All You Do is Perceive,” “The Garden Room” and Fabulae,” along with two chapbooks, “Which From That Time” and “White: An Abstract.” Since 2015, she has collaborated in the activist art collective Ifyoureallyloveme, using word, music and performance to create social change in Pittsburgh and other cities. She teaches off the tenure track in Carlow’s Madwomen in the Attic workshops for women and in Chatham University’s MFA program. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and son.
• Karen Dietrich, February 2024-25. Dietrich is the author of the psychological thriller “Girl at the Edge,” “The Girl Factory: A Memoir” and several poetry chapbooks. She plays drums in the indie rock band Essential Machine. She received a BA in English from University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in poetry from New England College. She is a language arts substitute teacher in grades 6-12 for the Greensburg-Salem School District. She lives east of Pittsburgh with her husband, son and three cats.
“It was difficult to select just four writers. However, their proposals were compelling, and we feel that they will each deliver a unique experience to the public with their writing,” said Chief Curator Barbara Jones of the selection process.
Currently, Michele Stoner’s poem, “Mile Marker 322,” appears on the bridge. While the manual installation of new stanzas has been delayed by the covid-19 pandemic, Stoner’s poem is expected to conclude in January.
Previously featured poems were “Main Street Bridge, Greensburg” by Jan Beatty and “Ohr Ein Sof – Light Without End” by Jacob Bacharach. In total, 10 writers will be selected for commissioned works.
”Analog Scroll” was recognized by the Public Art Network Advisory Council in its 2018 PAN Year in Review Trends and Themes: Site Responsive Projects.
For more information on the project, visit thewestmoreland.org.