Poetry on the Streets, LLC
Everyone has a poem inside. Everyone has a story.
Founded and created by Melanie Pappadis Faranello in 2017. Poetry on the Streets engages communities in creative self-expression, connects people to the poetry of everyday life, and brings people's words into public spaces to create social impact.
Poetry on the Streets (POTS) started by bringing a manual typewriter into public spaces, such as bus stops, street corners, parks, and engaging passersby to stop and write a poem based on a word chosen from a "jar of emotions." POTS has continued to evolve through community engagement and collaborations, providing spaces for self-expression and connections, highlighting voices across the globe.
Poetry on the Streets has received recognition from National Arts Strategies as being chosen for their Creative Community Fellows program, and The Pollination Project, who supports global leaders in support of social change, and appeared on NPR, as well as in other publications.
About Melanie Faranello , writer and teaching artist
Recent Projects
POTS + Child Shield Initiative in Nigeria see YouTube video here (see more under Global Projects tab)
The Poetry Bus A public transit city bus wrapped in poetry written by youth about freedom, equality, and peace. Connecting poetry + transit and empowering young writers, Spring 2021; Public Murals incorporating MLK's Principles of Nonviolence and youth poetry on city walls; Empty Storefront Exhibit: Revitalizing empty storefront space showcases people's photographs on the street with their poems about human emotions, Fall 2021 Gallery Show Over one hundred poems alongside the people's photographs 2020. ; Essential Voices from the PandemicEssential Voices from the Pandemic Providing a platform for expression in response to COVID-19. Work from this initiative also was displayed at Work_Space Gallery Show "Perspectives from a Pandemic"; Many more Community Workshops and Engagement;
POTS Workshops
Creative writing for community- city workers, veterans, healthcare workers I Teen Voices I Senior Stories I Story exchanges I Global story exchanges and poetry workshops I Creative writing for youth I Speaking engagements/presentations on POTS
Follow POTS on Instagram and Facebook for more info or send an email for inquiries
"Loneliness"
"Back bares wounds/ to all the times I've been a fool/ Loneliness, I feel you."
-Angela (and Brooklyn)
"Addiction"
"It's a very hard thing to fall hard to addition. I've been an alcoholic for 40 years. I don't have a job. I don't have a home. But if I get myself a new set of teeth, it will boost my self-esteem and confidence."
-John James L.
(POTS youngest poet! 3yrs old)
"Love"
"Love is RED. Monster trucks are GREEN! Kisses and hearts! Kinder Surprise Eggs!"
-Tommy
"Peace"
"Sought after and rare/Perfect but simple/ It's so odd that something so gentle/can only come from strict intentionality--Fight for it/ Peace"
-Ashley
"My Passion"
I don't remember/what these spaces/between the seconds/are called...but I think of you/in these intervals."
-Lucas F
Edwin and Evelyn wrote their first ever poem together. Evelyn titled it "Quiet" after Edwin because she joked he's always talking. They moved to Hartford two weeks ago and said they like it here because it doesn't matter what color skin they have.
"Beauty Within"
Beauty is/You are/We are/Nothing more/Than our experiential sums/Beauty is within/When we live for a friend/When we live from within/ Not free of sin/ But understanding that we are only men.
-Sid
"Reaching the Stars"
Life is a journey/that takes you wherever you want to go/sometimes in life/you have to go with the flow/but never forget/who you are/you will forever reach the stars."
-Kim H.
"Shining Star"
"When you wish upon a star/dreams will take you very far/ but when you wish upon a dream/life is what is always seems."
After he wrote his poem and painted it, he sang me a beautiful song and then went on his way.
Father and Son
"Black Man in the Park, by Manual" + "Zazie, My Dog, by Max"
"Trust"
What a challenge it is to trust this life/to have faith that all is worth the pain and strife/but what choice do we have?/Hide our heads in the sand?/Or stand up for what is right/ Believe, take a stand, ignore the injustice or try to be the change/ I will choose to be brave/and face what's wrong/to trust in this life/Be loving and strong."
-Micky
"Dean the Dream" on break from his job on Pratt Street wrote a poem titled "Guilt"