Every year, I set literary resolutions. I want to expand my horizons, and there are so many genres I haven’t explored fully. This year, it’s poetry. That’s why I was so excited to hear about a Minnesota initiative to bring poetry to the masses through an easy and simple method – your phone! 

The concept is called Ring Ring Poetry, and it’s designed to encourage people to visit specific areas of the state and listen to the beautiful poetry created for that region by local poets. It allows you to truly experience the area with all of your senses. Created by Cole Sarar, it’s funded solely through grants. 

Season two wrapped up in November with a beautiful piece created by William Waltz, editor-in-chief of Conduit Magazine, and set in Saint Paul’s Hidden Falls Regional Park. Waltz’s poem is rife with imagery, man and animal butting up against each other, trading places and treading closely. And even if you’re not standing in the location, it’s worth a listen. The inflections in Waltz’s voice are just as beautiful as the words he speaks.

Call now — 612-223-POEM — or head to the website to check out other locations featured in the first two seasons. Be sure to share the number and site with others, too, because of all writers and poets often receive little recognition — even though they create some of the most beautiful works of literary art.