Christian Steward performs his poem, “The Places for Potential Spaces,” during the East Colfax StoryWalk this fall. His piece is inscribed on brightly colored vinyl and wrapped around an electrical box at the corner of Colfax Avenue and Syracuse Street.

New interactive art is now adorning the East Colfax neighborhood in some of the most unexpected places, from panels atop wooden posts throughout McNichols Park to vinyl-wrapped electrical boxes along Colfax Avenue. The panels and electrical boxes are inscribed with original poetry and are the “stops” in a “StoryWalk,” the first art installation by the Denver non-profit Sidewalk Poets.

Ayan, a student from Ashley Elementary School who helped compose the piece “Like Running Water,” read her poem during the Sidewalk Poet’s StoryWalk on Sept. 16.

The stops feature 17 original poems that testify to the joy, struggles, and resilience of East Colfax. “The walk aims to celebrate the people who make up this neighborhood and to amplify their authentic personal stories,” says Abby Templeton Greene, who co-founded Sidewalk Poets in 2022 with fellow poet Courtney E. Morgan.

The installation places the poems in visible locations throughout the community. “I want the StoryWalk to highlight all that we have in this neighborhood,” says Greene, who lives in East Colfax. “We have this amazing community made up of people who speak many languages and carry many stories, and in that there is great value and a great deal to be proud of.”

The StoryWalk, supported by a grant from Denver Arts and Venues, exhibits the writings of Sidewalk Poets and those who have participated in the organization’s storytelling and poetry workshops. Several collaborative poems were written by Ashley Elementary School students, parents or staff, including “Like Running Water” by a cohort of fourth graders. Other poems, written by youths from the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning, depict the refugee experience and are printed on the StoryWalk stops in the writer’s first language and in English. The StoryWalk is designed to be enjoyed either as a circuit with people viewing each poem on the route, or serendipitously with pedestrians encountering a poem or two as they walk through the community.

Sidewalk Poets board member Erika DeShay Lowenkron is an English teacher in the Cherry Creek School District who says that she “purposefully lives in the neighborhood of East Colfax for its grit and beauty.” For Lowenkron, the StoryWalk, like storytelling in general, builds community relationships and “empowers transformation through self-expression.” She says, “If I know my neighbor’s story, then I begin to see them more fully. We come to know each other, feel safe together, and watch out for each other.”

Maria Corral recites her poem, “Hierbabuena/Peppermint,” printed on one of the StoryWalk panels in the East Colfax neighborhood.

In September, soon after the poetry installations were finalized, more than 50 members of the surrounding community gathered to stroll the StoryWalk and view the poems. Greene and Morgan led the group from piece to piece, and several of the artists who wrote poems for the StoryWalk read their compositions to the crowd.

Although the poetry installation celebrates the energy and vibrancy of East Colfax, it also draws attention to the importance of providing dignity and equity for pedestrians. As Lowenkron recalls, “We were out with our dogs, parents with kids in strollers, moving as one organism, yet we could not all safely walk or roll due to the lack of walkable sidewalks.”

One of the StoryWalk poems, initially composed to mark Denver’s observance of World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims, was written by Christian Steward. His work is titled, “The Places for Potential Spaces” and urges neighbors to “occupy the streets” in a way that is safe, inclusive and sustainable, such as biking, singing, dining, or playing.

As an RTD community connector, Steward helped Sidewalk Poets obtain a grant from RTD to embellish the utility boxes. “Walking and poetry unite us. Be kind to your neighbor, but don’t limit your kindness to your neighborhood,” says Steward.

Greene and Morgan, who are both former educators, established Sidewalk Poets to bring “the healing power of the arts” to residents in the community and to people navigating trauma, says Morgan. They emphasize that using the creative arts in therapeutic ways has been proven to reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, and emotional exhaustion while increasing feelings of power, positivity, and self-confidence. Today the poetic duo leads storytelling workshops for youths within the court system, students throughout metro Denver, and immigrants who speak Spanish.

Courtney E. Morgan (L) and Abby Templeton Greene (R) founded Sidewalk Poets in 2022. The StoryWalk is their first art installation. Photo by Jesse Temple Trujillo

“Every person is an artist born with creative genius, and every person deserves a safe environment in which to experiment, learn, heal, and develop,” notes Greene while reflecting on the benefits of poetry for the individual and the community. “We believe that writing and storytelling are vehicles for positive self-transformation.” She continues, “We also believe that writing, retelling, and reclaiming one’s own personal story is an act of social justice.”

Morgan encapsulated Sidewalk Poets’ mission, saying, “Writing poetry helps all of us—kids, adults, and society as a whole—process and make sense of and even find beauty in what is hard and broken in this world. We treat art and writing like it’s ‘extra,’ but it’s really at the heart of our humanity.”

The StoryWalk interactive art installation will be on display through next summer. For a map of each storytelling location and a suggested walking route, visit sidewalkpoets.org/storywalk.

Front Porch photos by Christie Gosch except where noted