TAG: A Poeta Project

TAG is a division of The Poeta Project originally started by Karen Eckert in 2018 as a response to a lack of inspiration and drive in her own writing.  TAG connects the two mediums of poetry and art and uses this pairing to generate inspiration and creation in both.  Beginning April 1^st, 2020 during the onset of the Covid pandemic, Eckert reached out to poets and artists to participate in a game of creative “tag.”  She began by giving one of her poems to an artist who then had six days to use that work as inspiration for a unique piece.  The image of that artwork was then sent to a poet, who had six days to create a poem based on the artwork they received.  Poet to artist to poet continued like a virtual game of tag until the conclusion of the project in September.  Eckert received the last image and created a final poem generating a sense of closure as the project came full circle.

Understanding that the participants were forced to work quickly, artists and poets both echoed the same sentiment:  in a time when the world felt in turmoil and despair, having a project like this, with such a short turn around, jumpstarted them into feeling creative again.  This project became the impetus to move forward, break out of a creative slump, and to engage in the creation of their work in a new way.  

Participating artists include Kari Achatz, Bruce Adams, Meghann Boltz, Kristin Brandt, Alisha Brunelli, Jennifer Campbell, Caitlin Cass, Karen Eckert, Frani Evedon, Noah Falck, Robert Fleming, Patrick Foran, A.J. Fries, Justin Karcher, Maria Pabico LaRotonda, Stacey Lechevet, Scott Losi, Lauren Maynard, Michael Mulley, Karle Norman, Cheryl Quimba, Rachel Robles, Jennifer Ryan, Virocode, Edreys Wajed, and V. Kottavei Williams.