Welcome to Walking, Waiting, Wandering Words, a collaborative public art project between The Arts Partnership and the City of Fargo, The Fargo Park District and NDSU and MSUM artists.

This project invites the public to write poetry or musings that will then be juried; selected pieces will be stamped in some of the new and replaced sidewalks throughout the City of Fargo this summer and fall.

We are working with the Fargo Public Schools, the neighborhood of Prairiewood Circle, and you, the general public, to submit the words that get stamped in.

The Rules:

• There is a 120 character limit to your "poem"
• The poem must be PG-rated—remember, kids will be reading these, too
• You may submit in any language you choose
• The format may be any style that fits inside this box
• We are selecting 12 poems from the Fargo Public Schools, 12 poems from Prairiewood Circle residents, and 12 poems from the general public, as submitted on this site.
• Submitted poems may be used by The Arts Partnership in a variety of capacities and may appear in on-line or print versions of this project, even if they don’t make it to the stamping round.

Prompting Questions:

You may submit in one or both categories There is a pace to brisk walking that necessitates a quick reading piece. Think about people exercising, roller blading, biking, and running on a path for the walking portion.

Question: What do you notice with any of your senses when you are out moving in nature? Think about what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

There is a pace to waiting that invites a certain contemplation and perhaps allows for more time to read and ponder words. Think about waiting at a stoplight, at the space behind a train guard bar, or at a bus stop for the waiting portion.

Questions: Where does your mind go to when you are waiting for whatever is stopping you to change so you can move forward? How is that like life? How does it feel to have to wait? What do you discover when you are forced to stop and be still?

Deadline:

Submissions will be accepted through this site until Monday, September 10. You will be notified if your W4 submission has been accepted by Monday, September 17. You may continue to submit your writing to the site, but it won't be considered until next year's process begins again in the spring.

There will be a public celebration in early October, once all the sidewalks have been stamped. Be on the lookout on this site for more information regarding that celebration.

To Ponder:
po·em noun

1.
a composition in verse, especially one that is characterized by a highly developed artistic form and by the use of heightened language and rhythm to express an intensely imaginative interpretation of the subject.

2.
composition that, though not in verse, is characterized by great beauty of language or expression: a prose poem from the Scriptures; a symphonic poem.

W4 is modeled after a project that was created in St. Paul, MN, but we have added our own twists to make it specific to our community. For more information, go to http://publicartstpaul.org/everydaysidewalk/poems.html

Feel free to wander

Below you'll find some of our submissions

An moving exchange with an elementary poet’s mother

I recently had a Facebook conversation with the Mother of a student whose work we selected to be stamped into the new sidewalks going in at Island Park. Here are her distilled comments:

Received your sidewalk public art project request for Camille. VERY cool idea. We'll be happy to participate! I just told her she was selected and she started crying! The power of art to build confidence.....it’s amazing! School does not come very easy for Camille, so things like poetry, visual arts and ballet save her confidence! So proud to live in a community that "gets it."

Nothing more needs to be said, except THANK YOU City of Fargo for "getting it!"

Dayna Del Val, ED The Arts Partnership

An early part of the making of the stamps.

​NDSU artist Brittany Greenwood developed the process of creating the stamps by using ply-wood and particle board, spray paint and adhesives, and a laser cutter to create the forms for the City to use.

To inspire you in your own writing

​Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~Khalil Gibran

Working with the Fargo Public Schools

Earlier this spring, affiliates of Walking, Waiting, Wandering, Words met with the Fargo Public School District to discuss the possibility of working collaboratively. Fargo Public Schools was ecstatic about the idea of promoting creative language writing skills from real life experiences.

Next, we mapped out what sidewalks would need replacements in relationships to the schools. Ben Franklin Middle School, Clara Barton Elementary and Hawthorne Elementary ended up as the best fit.
Ben Franklin Middle School was working on writing about tolerance and the theme of “anti-racism” with their sixth grade students. They decided it best to create a collaborative Wordle or word collage that would represent every student. The Wordle will be stamped around the north Fargo area.

With the elementary level, the teachers brainstormed some prompts to promote writing. We received a bunch of great samples! As a group, we sorted through the writings and chose several that would work well to stamp. Parent permission letters were sent out to the selected students, and we are received all the letter back. The stamping of their writing will take place this fall on a stretch of sidewalk in Island Park that needs to be replaced.

Catie Miller, artist from MSUM

Sidewalk Chalk Quotes Video

​Very interesting

Contact Information

Dayna Del Val, Executive Director

The Arts Partnership

1104 2nd Ave. S. Suite 315
Fargo, ND 58103

dayna@theartspartnership.net

701.237.6133