Brick Street Poetry, a Zionsville nonprofit that provides local writers an opportunity to connect and share experiences through poetry, recently had a collaborative poem sent to the moon.
On Feb. 15, the poem “Following the Rivers Flow” was sent to the moon via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It landed on the moon Feb. 22. Joyce Brinkman, executive director of Brick Street Poetry, is the original creator of the poem.
Brinkman said the poem was selected to be a part of Lunar Codex, a digitized archive of art, including film, poems and music that was launched to the moon by Lunar Codex founder Samuel Peralta.
The poem, designed to be preserved for many years, was taken to the moon via a commercial lunar lander and is on the moon’s Lunar South Pole.
“Following the Rivers Flow” is a collaboration between poets Brinkman, Mark Neely, Orlando Menes, Shari Wagner, Don Platt, Kevin McKelvery, Mitchell Douglas, Matthew Brennan, Marcus Wicker and Laurel Smith. Most of the collaborators teach at Indiana colleges.
The poem, with illustrations by Cynthia Young and calligraphy by Julia Thompson, is displayed inside the SullivanMunce Cultural Center at 225 W. Hawthorne St.
Brinkman said “Following the Rivers Flow” is a poem that was initially written for the book “Mapping The Muse: A Bicentennial Look at Indiana Poetry.” The poem describes various rivers throughout Indiana.
“I worked with several libraries, poets and groups to publish a book for the Indiana bicentennial (in 2015),” Brinkman said. “The poems were designed to celebrate Indiana’s 200th year by presenting a glimpse of poetry in Indiana.”
Brinkman is delighted that Peralta chose a collaborative poem to send to the moon.
“I am pleased Samuel picked one of my collaborative pieces because I am a huge advocate for collaborative poetry,” Brinkman said.
For more about Brick Street Poetry, visit brickstreetpoetry.org. For more on the Lunar Codex, visit lunarcodex.com.
