About
Take a walk through Newark’s Riverfront Park searching for poems that tell the stories of the people who visit it! Listen to the poems by following the trail of photographs by photojournalist Ed Kashi that provide clues for discovering the poetry in and of Riverfront Park.
Poetry has long been a means of personal storytelling; PoemQuest tells the story of Riverfront Park through the voices of local poets commissioned by Newest Americans to interview visitors and share their stories through poetry. The poets asked questions designed to understand how visitors are connected to the park and to New Jersey—Where did your family come from before settling in New Jersey? What brought you here? What brings you to this park?
PoemQuest connects art to history through an interactive game that peoples the park with poetry. Once you play the game we encourage you to share your own poem about the journey that led you to Newark and your connection to Riverfront Park. Submit your poem
It is hidden in the park near the orange sculpture.
We are locating the poem. This may take a few moments.
paulA neves
Written on Water
I leave myself
as witness for us,
for this strange river’s mornings,
for quartos and rooms,
luxury apartments,
skyscrapers, cornflowers,
sex, soccer, sycamores’
honeycombed hours.
Forget winter,
we are still sailing, amor,
from Bahia, San Salvador, Minho,
Donegal, Bavaria, Southern soils
on ironbound bridges,
tracks in the marshes.
Leave these fados
as new maps for others:
curious tourists,
transplants and dabblers.
Cities will rise
like great waters
but we will unfurl them
and write down our names.