In the course of a poet’s life, travel is a vital part of the experience for many and in the US there are a great many places where we can travel to meet our fellow poets, or travel the streets and locales of our forebears.
There are any number of literary centers and landmarks we can go to, such as Poets House, the Poetry Foundation, the Loft Literary Center, City Lights Books, the Nuyorican or Big Sur, etc. that obviously figure in many of our collective imaginations and welcome visitors. But this year I’m sharing a few more offbeat options for you to consider, and encourage additional suggestions for those of us on poet road trips!
American Poetry Museum, Washington D.C. Most of us aren’t even aware there IS an American Poetry Museum, so if you’re in the DC Area, you should definitely take a trek out here to see what it’s all about. If you’re there, you might as well also grab a bite at Busboys and Poets.
Dead Poets Espresso, Illinois. Uncertain if the poets are dead because of the espresso or the espresso is made from dead poets, but professional courtesy says that if you’re in the area you should probably at least look.
Doll’s Head Trail, Georgia. A little creepy, but regarded for its puns and occasionally a few striking poems and visual images, supposedly.
Dragon Garden at Phalen Poetry Park, Minnesota. It’s the Year of the Dragon, so naturally I’m going to give this quaint park in Saint Paul a shoutout.
Ellen Kort Sidewalk Poetry, Wisconsin. The city of Appleton, Wisconsin dedicated a number of patches of sidewalk to the verse of Ellen Kort, the first poet laureate of Wisconsin.
Grip the Raven, Pennsylvania. In the Rare Books section of the Free Library of Philadelphia you can find the raven who was once the pet of Charles Dickens who inspired Edgar Allan Poe.
Hermit Hut of Tolstoy Park, Alabama. A 1-room round house from the 1920s, the subject of Sonny Brewer’s The Poet of Tolstoy Park. 99 years ago in 1925 a 70-year old man was told he had a year left to live, so he built this hut with the plan to spend those final days as a hermit. 18 years went by instead, entertaining many guests, and the hut is still standing in Alabama where you can go visit.
Kansas City Public Library-Central, Missouri. Famous for its exterior walls which are decorated as famous books. Definitely a fun stop with plenty to do nearby, as well.
Mary’s Little Lamb, Massachusetts. If you REALLY love the poem “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” the city of Sterling has a treat for you, with a tiny statue of the lamb who inspired the poem, supposedly.
“Ozymandias,” Texas. A pair of giant legs inspired by the poem, near Amarillo, although you may get more of a kick out of visiting Cadillac Ranch, if we’re going to be really frank, here.
Poe Museum, Virginia. Once upon a midnight dreary, indeed! Richmond, Virginia is home to the Edgar Allan Poe Museum and you may want to stop by there.
Pittsburgh Poet Houses, Pennsylvania. A series of houses near Randyland painted as a work of art to honor the exiled foreign literary writers who’ve lived in them as part of Pittsburgh’s “City of Asylum” project, which turns 20 this year. The city hoped to eventually have every home on the block turned into a Poet House, creating “a public library of multi-lingual houses” that can be “read” while walking down the street.
Poem Furniture, Virginia. A design and fabrication company based in Charlottesville, Virginia specializing in furniture and cabinetry. Founded by Tate Pray, “Poem emphasizes thoughtful design and quality craftsmanship to create lasting products that elevate the everyday.”
Poem Peak, British Columbia. If you really want to do some off-roading or have some ungodly urge to do some hiking in the wilderness, you can check this spot out over in Canada.
Poets Coffee, Tennessee. They’ve been at it 30 years, so they must be doing something right.
Poetry Garage, Chicago. If you’re on a road trip through the Windy City, this is one place to rest your wheels. Located in the heart of Chicago’s Loop at the southwest corner of Madison and Wells streets, The Poetry Garage brings literary awareness to Chicago’s major business district. Each level represents a culturally significant poet from various historical periods and poetic genres. Sights and sounds of poetry entertain parkers and enable each guests to remember where to find their car.
Poet Lake, Minnesota. Good luck getting to this one, located next to Phoebe Lake near the Boundary Waters. It seems mostly designated as such as a dare. You’re better off trying to get to Poets Cove in Elkhart, Wisconsin where your odds are higher that there’s also a little more to do out there once you get there.
Poetry Parking Lot, Minnesota. Ten years ago in 2014, Lanesboro Arts held its inaugural Lanesboro Haiku Poetry Contest to solicit poetry for display in the Poetry Parking Lot, located just off County Road 8, one block west of downtown. A local selection committee led by artist Ed Bok Lee chose 15 poems for publication in the Poetry Parking Lot at the Lanesboro Arts Campus Art & Poetry Festival in September 2014. This project addressed the limited downtown parking by transforming the underused city parking lot into the Poetry Parking Lot, where “park here” signage is replaced by regional poetry. To promote walkability, a short walking trail was added to connect the Poetry Parking Lot to the restored historic walking bridge, which crosses the idyllic Root River into downtown.
POETS of Corpus Christi, Texas. I’m not going to call it bait and switch, but 70 years ago, in 1954, twelve men came together and formed a poker group. They met every Friday at noon and called themselves the P.O.E.T.S., which stands for “Put Off Everything, Tomorrows is Saturday.” Today you can still grab a meal there, and it might be worth a stop. The website is https://www.eatatpoets.com NOT eatpoets.com which would be a different part of Texas entirely.
Pour Poet, Missouri. Relatively new, established in 2021, not to be confused with poor poets. If you’re in the area, you might want to give it a look.
Providence Athenium, Rhode Island. If you’re a fan of H.P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allan Poe, you owe it to yourself to see the Providence Athenium, a library favored by both of them in their time.
Ray Bradbury Rides A Rocket, Illinois. Ray Bradbury was a Speculative Poetry Grand Master, so if you’re passing through Waukegan, Illinois, you may want to visit the giant statue of him riding a rocket.
Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry, Oklahoma. Since 2012, it has not been a traditional museum. “It is, however, in the traditional sense of the word “museum,” a place that is sacred to the muses, the muses of poetry in particular. ROMP celebrates the power of poetry in the daily lives of the people. ROMP celebrates the first literary art in the world and its continuing need in the lives of people everywhere.”
Seuss in Springfield, Massachusetts. You might love it (or you might hate it), but here’s a place you might go, in the rain or in the snow, in the summer or in the spring, if whimsical sculptures are your kind of thing.
And of course, if you’re near Salinas and Carmel By The Sea, stop by Tor House and Hawk Tower, handbuilt by the early 20th century poet Robinson Jeffers, including stones and objects from his travels abroad including Egypt and the Great Wall of China, legend has it.
That’s a start! Where else would you send a poet on the road? Let me know in the comments below!
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