A “Community Poem” is a collaborative poem created by the members of a community. It invites people to come together and express their thoughts, experiences, and dreams in poetic form. At the Stowe Center for Literary Activism (SCLA), we encourage our visitors to contribute to our Community Poem displayed in the Visitor Center. Each month, we select a new writing prompt, offering a fresh opportunity for participation.

Community Poems are a powerful form of literary activism. They give voice to individuals, activating words that speak truth, foster peace, and promote a sense of belonging. Through these poems, we honor the idea that everyone has a story that matters. They are living, breathing expressions of social justice that remind us all of the power of words to shape the world around us.

We invite you to join in our monthly tradition of creating community poems, whether by reading the poems shared or by contributing your own. Below, you’ll find the community poems from past months—take a moment to reflect on the stories they tell, and feel free to participate in the ongoing conversation.

[Past Community Poems]

April 2024 Community Poem

What is Healing?

Freeing the rage inside your cage

Finding the wound

Compassion and forgiveness

Reaching beyond feeling consumed and doomed

Being more than a witness

To injustices around you and within you

Community

Relationships

Amar al projimo y divertise

Cultivating honey I will never taste

Voting to save our democracy and woman’s rights

Breathing deep

Admitting mistakes

Reconnecting with yourself

Learning to let go

Feeling your feelings

Finding the joy

Forgiving yourself

Freeing your mind

Celebrating every single milestone along the way

Determining the root of the trauma and working through it with loved ones

May 2024 Community Poem

History is…

Knowing who you are…

My cargo to carry and help repair

When old text become alive

Whatever you say it is

Basic

When we realistically face it

Old stories to tell

Knowledge you know forever

Forever that recycles old and new

Into a future built on lessons from our ancestors

To build a record of the past

Not to repeat the negative

Use the correct context for accuracy

The Ethelred energy conductors

Oral history too

A story going forever

Our precious past that should be honored

To embrace your genius…it’s there if you look!!!!

June 2024 Community Poem

Freedom is…

Flying my own flag

Sleeping in on a weekday

Juneteenth

Defunding the police and controlling my life

Touring Harriet Beecher Stowe’s House

Crying tears of joy

Choices

A dream we struggle toward

Equality

Writing what I want to on paper to ensure curiosity

And to read so that I can teach to others, apply to others, and connect with others

I choose how to spend my time

Just around the corner

With the community that loves you

And meeting new communities of people

July 2024 Community Poem

What is Democracy?

Any voice can speak, every voice is heard

Being with the people or neutral

“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people”

A relationship filled with respect and care between a country and its people

The people allow a government, which exists only for their benefit

The means and power to make decisions rests in the hands of all the people of the land

Shoot for the stars, aim for the moon

Constantly changing

A never-ending conversation

An awful way to govern-majority of ideas are lost

Thank heaven we have a constitutional republic, not a democracy

All can speak-We are one

We speak with different voices and hope for meaningful conversation that leads us forward

We all have a voice and a choice

To speak out against injustice and lies

To lighten, think, contemplate, and act to ensure justice for all

For the people, of the people

Democracy for all the People!

Democracy by all the People!

Not being afraid to speak out against those in power

August 2024 Community Poem

What’s the role of a Museum?

Teach us the past

To continue conversations

Enlighten the past and present

Inform the future!

Offer a moment to pause

And reflect on what’s to come

Present a narrative that depicts a certain aspect of history and experiences

Educate and History

Inspire and sow together the hidden

Captures a certain period, time, or interest

Protect historical artifacts

To welcome new ideas

To tell the truth

To house memories, truth, and historical facts in order to provoke thought

Encourage life long learning!

Show us the past, unvarnished, and unbiased as possible

Keep the past alive so others can learn for the future!

Illustrate the past and the people’s lives, teaching past mistakes

Keep artifacts safe so others may see them in person and get real context of how something was. Show that truth for learning and doing better in the future.

September 2024 Community Poem

Literary Activism is…

Finding my, our, their, voices

Speaking your truth, but also listening deeply

Literally activating words, truth, voices, and peace

Walk the talk, live the words

Excavate, reflect, document, act, repeat

Freedom-learning history to improve and grow

Inviting folks to share their stories and reminding them that they matter

Using the evocative power of art to spur change

Using my education and lived experiences to tell the story that provides hope, love, and tools to build a better future

Loving people even when it is hard

Using words as an active, living, breathing vessel of social justice

Telling the truth. Sharing the connection. We are one.

Documenting our story instead of letting someone else tell it

Reading banned books

Using your pen as your sword

___________________________

Brittana VersatilePoetiq Tatum was born at Hartford Hospital. She was raised for nine years in Simsbury, CT and ten years in Avon, CT. She has lived in Windsor, CT for the past 18 years. She played basketball throughout high school with aspirations of playing in college. She graduated from Avon High School in 2005. In the fall of 2005, she attended the University of Hartford as a marketing major. She put away her basketball sneakers and picked up a pen to become a Poet. She graduated from UHART with a Business Administration degree in May of 2009. She has been performing Spoken Word for 16 years and teaching Spoken Word for 13 years. She works for Charter Oak Cultural Center and Arts for Learning Connecticut. She was the Spoken Word Teacher at The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts (Colt Campus) 2014-2015. She performed in front of 20,000 people at The Greater Hartford Jazz Festival in 2019 and 2021. She hosted the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival in 2019. She was the Keynote Speaker at the Connecticut Association of Schools High School Outstanding Arts Award Ceremony in April 2023 and Hosted the Hartford Creative Arts Ceremony for 4th-12th Grade in June of 2023 and 2024. She Hosted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at Windsor Art Center January 2023 and 2024. She Hosted Juneteenth Open Mic at Windsor Art Center June 2023 and 2024. She Hosted Juneteenth Celebration on the Windsor Town Green June 2023 and 2024. Her stage name is VesatilePoetiq due to her universal appeal and unique mix of Spoken Word and Rap. She has all her students call her Miss. Versatile. VersatilePoetiq is a Visitor Experience Associate for the Stowe Center for Literary Activism.