Secret Bostonian Raining Poetry

Photo: litreactor.com

A partnership between Boston’s City Hall and a nonprofit organization Mass Poetry gave a city of Boston a new art project that is visible only when it rains. 

Titled “Raining Poetry”, the project uses a water-resistant spray to put poems on concrete walkways of Boston. The letters are not visible during sunny and dry days, however, when it starts raining, the letters show up, delivering cheerful messages to pedestrians.  

The map below can help you to find locations of the poems. Poems of Barbara Helfgott Hyett and Gary Duehr are located in Roslindale. “Water” by Elizabeth McKim can be found in near a library in Hyde Park, and Dudley Square features a poem “Still Here” by Langston Hughes. 

Boston is not the first city to try this graffiti practice. In the United States, the artist Nathan Sharratt implemented a similar project in Atlanta in 2013, so did Natvi Mistra last year in Seattle. 

The spray lasts for about one month and a half, so it is not clear how soon the poems will disappear. Boston, however, hopes to place new pieces of art around the city, probably even introducing poems in different languages. 

This pavement decoration is also a great way to honor the history of Boston, which was home to some great poets like Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop and others.