Project Grant

At least 25 people who generally do not like to attend poetry events will attend this event and will report that the location, and/or content/style of program, and/or outdoor access reduced barriers that otherwise might have prevented them from attending a poetry performance. The majority of event attendees will report that this collaborative intercultural literary conversation has increased their interest in and appreciation for poetry. The majority of event attendees will report that this collaborative intercultural literary conversation increased their connection to their own and others' cultural heritage. Artists will report that participating in an intercultural literary conversation facilitated connection to others' cultural heritage. Artists will report they experienced a higher level of audience engagement than they normal find at poetry readings. Artists will report they would be likely to participate in future collaborative intercultural literary conversations like this one. Volunteers from Minnesota Street Market and from Lyricality will distribute and collect paper surveys (and pens) near the end of the evening's performance and dialogue. Attendees surveys will be printed double-sided, one side in English and one in Somali. Due to the expected number of responses and because the survey will be bilingual, it will necessarily be a quantitative survey to make tabulation feasible. Artists' surveys will be qualitative/narrative because qualitative surveys elicit richer, more nuanced feedback. I will also have a conversation with Minnesota Street Market General Manager, Pia Lopez, after the event, to elicit her feedback regarding how well the event met her expectations, and what we might do to reach new audiences and/or improve future collaborative communal poetry/literary events.