As Kentucky’s Poet Laureate for 2019-2020, one of Aurora Avenue resident Jeff Worley’s missions is to spread the enjoyment and appreciation of poetry across the state. His most local effort is on his side fence: the poetry box. Each week, Jeff selects a poem he likes from a variety of authors and prints a dozen or so copies to display in the box. Passersby are free to take a copy if they like the poem. So far, he says, it is proving quite popular.
Mentelle Park resident Tom Eblen got the idea from writers Dorianne Laux and Joseph Millar, who were featured in the book Carolina Writers at Home, by Med Reid and Rob McDonald. Jeff liked the idea, so Tom made him one.
Check it out on the long fence along North Ashland Avenue between Cramer and Aurora avenues. Think of it as a benefit of living in the same neighborhood as Kentucky’s Poet Laureate: Literature chosen just for you.