An Experiment: Walking Poetry's America, Pt. 3

[scottwoods]

Something I feel pretty sure about after crunching more numbers and locales and science is that the theorem, as stated, is impossible. I do not believe that at any reasonably walkable daily distance (anywhere from 5 to 30 miles a day) that one would hit a regular poetry event every day until they crossed the country. Even with all of the time

Comments

[schroederjt]

I think someone could do a Poetry Walk across America. Vachel Lindsay did it back in the early days of the 20th century, exchanging poems for a place to stay and food to eat. Obviously, we could not do that anymore without being beaten to death and robbed, but I think someone - if they were doing a Poetry Walk - would have the opportunity to do a lot of special gigs at schools and local bookstores that might not show up on the regular radar. But that takes it away from the number theory that you are working with.

[scottwoods]

Sure. I'd bet money someone's already done that, though I've not come across that yet (didn't fit the theory so I didn't look it up).

I am considering all types of poetry venues, though.

[whoisthespirit]

Part of the problem you encounter, obviously, is the west... which is so vast as to throw off the ability to treck across it at some points and find anything, for days probably. And of course to cross America you need to be able to do that: move over the west like it just as population dense as any other part of the country, when it just isn't like that at all.

[stefan11]

I do not know of any venue between Corpus/Port Aransas an San Antonio (about 150 miles North of us).

[only1miouo]

If you are considering not just regular shows but perhaps contacting the bookstores, libraries, schools, etc... still impossible?

I would hope that with the non-poetry spots that would be open to poetry, that might make it a possibility.

Looking forward to part 4 if there is one.

[dahled]

maybe by bike - not walking.

could also do chunks of walking connected by other means. CA is pretty much split and there's not much between greater LA and the Bay for example. you could also co-opt mike mcgee's kitchen sessions and have that kind of event in the places where there's no other option.