AWC’s Poetry Machine
Pay attention the next time you’re in the grocery store, diner, restroom, or your local gas station… you might encounter one of ACW’s Poetry Machines! In collaboration with 2022-2024 Visiting Writer Erin Dorney, we’ve repurposed a number of machines to distribute poems and other writing throughout the Adirondack region.
The Poetry Machine is an old capsule machine, the kind you might spend two quarters to get a bouncy ball, sticky hand, or small plastic alien from in the vestibule of a convenience store. With our machine, you can get your very own poem (for free—no quarters necessary).
Where you can find the Poetry Machine
- June 2024 – Matteson’s Market, Woodgate, NY
- May 2024 – Richards Library in collaboration with Discover Warrensburg, Warrensburg
- April 2024 – Broadway Coffee Co., Saratoga Springs
- March 2024 – Community Bank, Whitehall
- February 2023 – Chef Darrell’s Mountain Diner, Blue Mountain Lake
- March 2023 – Indian Lake Theater, Indian Lake
- April 2023 – J.F. Farm Store & Cafe, Northville
- May 2023 – Old Forge Hardware, Old Forge
- June 2023 – Good Ol’ Wishy’s, Croghan
- July 2023 – Otto’s Abode, Wanakena
- August 2023 – Franklin County Courthouse, Malone
- September 2023 – Lakeside Coffee Roasters, Rouses Point
- October 2023 – Keeseville Pharmacy, Keeseville
- November 2023 – Tupper Lake Public Library, Tupper Lake
- December 2023 – Origin Coffee Co., Lake Placid
Interested in hosting the Poetry Machine in your community? Fill out this form and let us know! We are always on the lookout for new North Country location suggestions.
What’s inside?
Inside the Poetry Machine are 10 different poems. Each one features a unique style of poetry, including haiku, cento, epistolary, list, ode, ekphrasis, prose poem, how-to, erasure, and cut-up. We’re excited to feature work by the following writers:
- Julia Bloch – “Dear Kelly [p.43]”
- Erin Dorney – Erasure and cut-up poems
- Camille T. Dungy – “this beginning may have always meant this end”
- Ashley M. Jones – “Summer Vacation in the Subjunctive”
- Lillian Klein – “Quarantine Haiku”
- Laurie Kolp – “Carry Me”
- Steven Leyva – “Ode to Lando Calrissian”
- Kathleen Lynch – “How To Build An Owl”
- Sasha Pimentel – “The Kiss”
