ORGANIZERS: Miriam Barr
CONTACT: miriamtbarr AT gmail DOT com
You & The Guerrilla Poets: A street-art event for 100 Thousand Poets for Change
The Set Up
You & The Guerrilla Poets involved the Guerrilla Poets and The Literatti banding together to bring poetry to the central city streets of Auckland with a poetry trail that followed the footsteps of the famous 1969 demonstration that saw thousands of hippies and political activists take over Albert Park as a space for the people.
Everyone was invited to join the poets at midday at Myers Park. Armed with chalk, poetry banners and their voices the plan was to process along Queen Street, up Wellesley Street and into Albert Park, chalking, performing and handing out poetic messages of change as they go. The event would finish up in Albert Park and an attempt to completely fill in the area with poetry and get as many people as possible to interact with the message for change.
The Guerrilla Poets have been hitting the streets of Auckland to chalk moments of inspiration for unsuspecting passers-by since 2006 when Miriam Barr, Renee Liang and Christian Jensen met at Poetry Live and started organising group missions. When Barr received the 100 Thousand Poets for Change call out for public events, she says “A special guerrilla mission made perfect sense, this project has always been quite literally about bringing poetry to the street.” The Literatti’s involvement also fitted perfectly, their current project reTHiNK Possible Worlds, seeks to change public attitudes to mental health, so that is one theme passers-by can expect to see transforming the cityscape on the 24th – though participants are encouraged to share whatever message they wish.
You & The Guerrilla Poets on Facebook
The Outcome
Armed with poetry banners sharing poems in bite-sized chunks Miriam Barr, Christian Jensen, Daniel Larsen and Shane Hollands of The Literatti and their fellow Guerrilla Poets Rachael Naomi Heimann, Christie Orr and Simon Smithe gathered in Myers Park and by 12:30 had starting hitting the pavement with their words.
The group walked from Myers Park up the steps onto Mayoral Drive, down Queen Street, across the lights onto Wellesley St and up into Albert Park, once home to the historic Jumping Sundays, where they were met by reinforcements in the form of Richie Paine, Simone Kaho, Anna Forsyth and some newbies. The troupe joined up with a sustainability rally and left the surrounding area decorated with poetic messages of change that should last at least a couple of days in real life and hopefully a fair bit longer in memory.
Throughout the day members of the public were invited in to add their voice to the message and have their photo taken with a banner they agree with.
Poetry banners bore text by Malcolm X, Michael Rothenberg, and poets from The Literatti including Miriam Barr, Christian Jensen, Daniel Larsen, Shane Hollands, Jai MacDonald, Maddy King and Simone Kaho. The text on The Literatti’s flags all originated from their reTHiNK Possible Worlds show. Visit www.theliteratti.com to find out more about the reTHiNK Possible Worlds show and message.
reTHiNK Possible Worlds is supported by a reTHiNK Grant as part of the Like Minds, Like Mine programme, a national NZ initiative to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with mental unwellness. We are all human beings navigating the maze of life. Today seemed to expand on that – we are all beings navigating the maze of life.
The Evidence
Photos by Christian Jensen
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It all starts here: Myers Park 12:30 pm 24 Sep 2011
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Shane Hollands shows off a little something he just whipped out then
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We couldn’t resist adding just a little to the Rugby World Cup fan trail before heading off
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Miriam Barr leaves her first mark on the pavement for the day
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Make words not war… Rachael Naomi Heimann’s first statement for the day
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On the move: Guerrilla poets head to Albert Park via Queen St
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reTHiNK Possible Worlds: We are all human beings navigating the maze of life
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Heading out of the park
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Poem in progress
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How many poetry flags can you fit in a shot?
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Daniel Larsen & Miriam Barr
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Simon Smithe on the move
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Our first public volunteer getting on board with the words of the mighty Malcolm X
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poets for change… change for poets
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Heading down Queen Street
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Getting a bit slack there outside the town hall
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That’s better
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Ready for the lights to change
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Christian Jensen, fellow chalker and the man behind all of these photos, has a close call with a car!
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Queen Street: James Crompton gets busy and Simon Smithe waits to see what he says.
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Aotea Square: Daniel Larsen heads down Queen Street
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Aotea Square: Deedee from 95 Bfm
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Aotea Square…we meet some break dancers
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Aotea Square break dancers for change
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We all have a need to stumble & by stumbling we grow.
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Wellesley St: Guerrilla poets on the move again
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Wellesley Street – nearly there
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Wellesley Street: James Crompton
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Wellesley Street: Rachael Naomi Heimann
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Wellesley Street: Miriam Barr with her Malcolm X flag
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Wellesley Street: James Crompton
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Wellesley Street: by Simon Smithe
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Wellesley Street: Simon Smithe
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Wellesley Street: by Simon Smithe
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Wellesley Street: French stranger, Christie Orr & Miriam Barr
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Wellesley Street: people getting interested
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Wellesley Street: Rachael Heimann
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Wellesley Street
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Blow down the walls of convention they are only made of Straw. Rachael Heimann. Wellesley Street
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Wellesley Street: people reading
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We find our way to Albert Park
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Albert Park: Miriam Barr at home in a magnolia tree
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Albert Park: Setting up camp
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Albert Park: Poetree
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Albert park: Poetree for change
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Albert Park, text by Miriam Barr, Chalked by Christian Jensen
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Albert Park
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Albert Park
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Albert Park: rethink Possible Worlds around the fountain
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Albert Park: rethink Possible Worlds around the fountain
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Albert Park: rethink Possible Worlds around the fountain
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Albert Park: rethink Possible Worlds around the fountain
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Albert Park: rethink Possible Worlds around the fountain
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Albert Park: rethink Possible Worlds around the fountain
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Albert Park: rethink Possible Worlds around the fountain
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Time to say goodbye to our magnolia tree home and join and the sustainability rally at the rotunda down the path
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The rally get themselves set up
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One of the friendly environmentalists gets on board with the reTHiNK Possible Worlds message
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A couple of people catch up with us in the park
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Shane Hollands and Anna Forsyth get to work filling in the area
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People stop by to read the banners
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This banner seems to get picked a lot as one to have a picture with…
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And then we get invited to take part in the rally…
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Miriam Barr reads a poem for the environment to the crowd
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Albert Park: Miriam Barr
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We live in waves like fish and phosphorescence, knock us and we learn to glow – Miriam Barr
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Dressed up for change
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The whole rally and us together – ah happy days!
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They’re not all poets, but they all want change, and today they all had a hand in poetry at least
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A member of the public adding their voice to the message
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Dressed up for change – one of the rally members joins us for a minute
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More people adding their bodies to the mix – rethink possible worlds
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The green and pink words don’t photograph so well
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A man from the Sea Shepherd tent joins in
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poem by Shane Hollands
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Rachael Naomi Heimann poem
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Rachael Heimann’s native tree chant leans away into the distance behind the officers’ legs
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Albert Park – Rachael Naomi Heimann poem, native tree chant
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The police officer thought we were heckling him at first, but then he was more than happy to get involved
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an excerpt from one of Daniel Larsen’s reTHiNK Possible Worlds poems spends the afternoon asking questions from the trees
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Another one of the sustainability ralliers joins us for a moment
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This man also read us poetry he had found earlier that day.
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A DJ from the sustainability rally gets on board with the rethink message
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Albert Park: The girls making daisy chains add their voices to the message
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A woman visiting from Wellington to see her new granddaughter gets behind the words of Michael Rothenberg.
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The sun has bleached the words in this shot: rethink, relearn, regret, reset, rebubble, remake, return…
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Albert Park: Miriam Barr (background) and a musician from the park getting behind the reTHiNK message
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Albert Park: We stand at the precipice of Happiness
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You just never know who you are going to meet
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A woman campaigning for SAFE who quotes Gandhi gets behind Malcolm X
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Pause for thought in Albert Park
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Albert Park
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Albert Park: Member of the public adds her voice to the message
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The Sea Shepherd Guy chalks: It’s legal in NZ to chop the fins off a shark and throw the body back
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Wellesley Street post-Guerrilla Poets
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The return journey – looks like the poems have made themselves at home
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The recordings coming soon
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