WORD is ART Stage Schedule
Anyone in the region who's a fan of spoken word knows that Columbus has a tremendously talented and thriving poetry scene. And the Columbus Arts Festival's history of showcasing these talented performers goes back more than 30 years.
Each year, we honor Columbus' reputation as a national leader for spoken word and poetry. You won't want to miss the high impact, high energy performances from some of the city's best, including the participants in our annual Columbus Arts Festival Poetry Slam.
Located at the Ohio Magazine Word is Art Stage near the corner of Gay Street and Cleveland Avenue.
My Cousin’s Beach in New Jersey
By Nancy Kangas, 2011 Poetry Contest Winner
There is sand. Bright, hot sand.
An August sun, and the high engine hiss of the sea.
Umbrella-stand boys ferry umbrellas with sure, deep steps
across what could be the arctic, as if they were Sherpas and we were explorers.
We came from Ohio
in bathing suits that say Ohio.
Mine is red, too simply red. My mother’s too padded and flowery.
My brothers’ are dull and boyish, my father — ay. His, a thinning and faded Speedo.
My cousins and their cousins their aunts and their uncles
are all the color of dark honey and have private streaks of nakedness
looping over their shoulders and criss-crossing their backs.
They stand with us in sunglasses.
I am white. I squint. There is salt. Our striped beach towels smell
like the back seat of the Dodge Dart. The umbrella-boy lifts
the pole off his shoulder, pierces the beach in one javelin heave.
He opens our shade and leaves.
No one has said a word about swimming.
