Poetic Routes: Selections by Claudia Castro Luna, WA State Poet Laureate 2018-21

Washington Poetic Routes is a digital poetry-mapping project by Claudia Castro Luna. It explores Washington’s rich geographical terrain, both in terms of landscape and the human relationships that unfold across the State. ArtsWA is honored to have artworks from Washington's State Art Collection paired with the poems on www.washingtonpoeticroutes.com.

Claudia Castro Luna notes that "Geography is inescapable. We are bound to the places we inhabit, the terrain we call home. My hope is that through writing and reading poems that tell of the places we call home written by Washingtonians of all ages and locations, we can learn a little bit more about our cities, towns, mountains, rivers, know a little more about our birds and fish, learn about the stories that define a particular place, read from a fifth grader what it is like to live in a place where eventide means ladders left leaning on apple tree orchards awaiting tomorrow’s harvest.

My hope is that together, through our own poems of place we will have a new, different way of engaging with each other as citizens. Together we create a living map of what is like to live in this wonderful place we share called Washington State."

The Washington Poetic Routes website (www.washingtonpoeticroutes.com) includes instructions on how you can submit a poem. It also includes two lesson plans by Claudia Castro Luna to help teachers, students, and anyone who is interested write about the place they live in.

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