Artists & Communities Host Site: Economic Corporation of Newport
P.O. Box 190
Guild, New Hampshire 03754

Millennium Artist:
Verandah Porche
Poet
Vermont
E-mail: verandah@sover.net

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Through the medium of "told poetry," Millennium Artist Verandah Porche brought together a broad range of community members and local artists to honor the businesses and workers of Sunapee Street in Guild, New Hampshire. Using the actual words of community members, Porche told the stories of a street that has served as the town's industrial backbone for more than three generations. The project, "Self Portraits in Newport: SPIN in the Millennium," was the basis for Porche's Artists & Communities residency.

Verandah Porche is a poet whose literary residencies seek to create and display vivid community self-portraits. Her technique involves collaborating with writing partners to craft "told poetry" and narratives that release their unvoiced eloquence.

Partnering with the Economic Development Corporation of Newport (ECON) on SPIN in the Millennium, Porche created a collection of narratives and illustrative photographs exploring the contributions of local businesses and workers to the community's culture and economic development. "SPIN in the Millennium" was the offshoot of an on-going community project designed to release the poetry of local life and, by sharing it, shape hopes into action. The SPIN process enabled people to create, preserve, and share their personal literature through the assistance of a writing partner.

Porche collected nearly 100 stories from business owners and workers along the three-mile stretch of Sunapee Street. The artist engaged these individuals in one-on-one dialogues, interviewing them about their jobs and dreams. She then created "told poems" from the interviews, capturing moments of personal experience in a person's own language.

As she collected stories, Porche chose not to use a tape recorder; instead, she recorded them manually using a laptop computer. "Their words ha[d] their sound," Porche said of the people she interviewed. "I f[ound] that more moving than their actual information."

Porche also collaborated with students from Towle and Newport Middle High Schools. Together, they fashioned "told poems" from stories they told one another, collaborating on the poems' phrasing and rhythm. The completed works were posted on a virtual "Poet's Corner" through a local library's Web site.

Local photographer Bill Hackwell accompanied Porche on her visits, shooting portraits of each subject in their working environment. It is planned that the narratives and associated photographs will be exhibited later in 2001 in Newport's planned Visitors' Interpretive Center.

Many of the resident's interviews were featured in the local press and broadcast on the cable NCTV "Guild Guys" program. Sharing the poems publicly proved an opportunity for the town to collectively reflect on their history, as well as their future. ECON plans to use the stories captured by Porche as the foundation for a community mural, to be created by local artists in 2001.

Millennium Artist Verandah Porche's dedication to her craft and working with communities is evident in her own words: "I believe that poetry should have a communal mission as well as an individual one. I want my work to show people how connected they are as well as how unique."

MILLENNIUM ARTIST BIO

Verandah Porche is a poet whose literary residencies seek to create and display vivid community self-portraits. Porche collaborates with writing partners to craft "told poetry" and narratives that release their unvoiced eloquence. She has published The Body Symmetry (Harper and Row) and Glancing Off (See Through Books).