Preface
Thank You 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 16 24 30 32
About PA Humanities
Project Overview
Partner Organizations and Workshop Host Sites
Installation Sites
The Power of Poetry
Program Partners
Assemble/Nelson Mandela Peace Park
YouthPlaces/Northview Heights
YMCA Homewood-Brushton
Evaluation
In your hands is the poetic brilliance of Pittsburgh’s youth, created during our 2024 Rain Poetry project in Pittsburgh. Each haiku tells its own story, providing us little windows into the unique experiences of Pittsburgh’s children. Their words are a joy to read and give me hope for the next generation.
Rain Poetry is the embodiment of PA Humanities’ tagline: “We put the humanities into action.” This project, from the hands-on workshops to the neighborhood installations and celebrations, is at the confluence of all the streams of our people-centered work: youth development, culture, creativity, and community building. It shows the power of the humanities to bring everyday people together and do something that’s meaningful and fosters belonging and strengthens connection to place.
As you flip through these pages, it is my hope you’ll be inspired to bring similarly creative and engaging intergenerational projects to your own community.
A heartfelt thank you to the Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Grable Foundation for their support making this project possible and providing an opportunity for young poets to turn their daily lives into living works of public art.
Dawn Frisby Byers Senior Director of Content and Engagement, PA Humanities
PA Humanities’ mission is to put the humanities in action across the state.
We put people first. We believe that storytelling, historical perspectives, personal interpretation, creativity, and deliberative conversations are the tools that the humanities provide everyday people. Equipped with these resources, communities can document their own culture and move forward in shaping their homes. The results are transformative insights into ourselves and our world, inspiring us to work together for a more equitable society. Dialogue leads to community building, which drives us to collective action.
Through special projects, programs and grantmaking, our work champions the humanities and centers growth, equity and community as a pathway to positive, lasting change.
During 2023-24 we are celebrating 50 years of bringing Pennsylvanians together to make meaningful change through the humanities.
Rain Poetry launched in 2023 in Philadelphia as part of PA Humanities’ 50th anniversary celebrations. In the spring of 2024 we brought the project to Pittsburgh, working with teaching artist and longtime educator Karen Howard to conduct hands-on literacy building haiku workshops with children from three afterschool programs – Assemble (Garfield), YouthPlaces (Northview Heights) and YMCA Lighthouse (Homewood/Brushton). The children wrote their poems based on themes that they selected.
Partnering with local artists Shane Pilster and Max Gonzales, of Do What We Love, the poems were installed on the ground at or near our three partner sites using a combination of decals, signs and a special invisible spray that only appears when wet – making it Rain Poetry! All it takes is some water to make the poems appear like magic underfoot!
Once the installations were complete, we held reveal celebrations and invited community members to come together and share in the creativity and wisdom of their youth. While the installations are not permanent, the impact on the young poets, lessons learned, conversations around poetry and community and the words contained in this book will last long after the spray vanishes for good.
Assemble
4824 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
YouthPlacesNorthview Heights 525 Mt. Pleasant Road Pittsburgh PA, 15214
YMCA Lighthouse/ YMCA Homewood-Brushton
7140 Bennett Street Pittsburgh, PA 15208
YouthPlaces Northview Heights
Nelson Mandela Peace Park
5162 Broad St, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
(corner of Broad and Evaline Street, Garfield)
YouthPlaces Northview Heights
*Parklet at 525 Mt. Pleasant Rd, Pittsburgh PA, 15214
Please note that Northview Heights is a Housing Authority City of Pittsburgh community. Visitors will not be permitted past the entry station without prior approval.
YMCA Homewood-Brushton
7140 Bennett St, Pittsburgh, PA 15208
Installation can be found along the sidewalk that runs between the building and the parking lot at the back entrance.
By Karen Howard
The Power of Poetry is concrete magic. How’s that for an oxymoron? Poetry is concrete because you can take classes or attend workshops that teach the mechanics of writing a poem. You have the opportunity to learn various poetic forms, how to rhyme, how not to rhyme, meter and measures. At the end, you will be able to write a pretty decent poem.
The power of poetry is in the magic of your words. When I read Lucille Clifton, Toni Morrison or Mary Oliver, I know all the words they use but it is how they use those words that give their writing power.
When written with magic, poetry can turn tears into joy or bring encouragement to an otherwise bad day. Reading poetry empowers me because it is my strength to be a better human. Poetry written as Maya Angelou writes is the prop that holds my head up.
Writing poetry gives me my greatest joy. I am a stream flowing through nature channeling words of green to bring hope to those who lie on my banks. Basking in the light.
Poetry smells like lilies, sweet but not too sweet. Their roots grow deep from bulbs of life as they reach upward, tall, strong yearning for more life.
The honesty of poetry is as unique as the reader or writer. Words written with magical integrity will stir in your soul. Calling each of us to our own truth, be it peace or unrest. Wrapped in kindness you can feel safe, sovereign and secure.
I love poetry. It makes me dance, smile and shout sometimes. Poetry is my lifelong partner. When I look into the eyes of poetry, I feel the glow of the golden sun drawing my eyes upward to feel warmth. Eyes closed you see nothing yet you feel everything.
That’s the Power of Poetry. Pick up your pen and write!
of Pittsburgh, is a retired 30-year veteran of Pittsburgh Public Schools and a former field supervisor for student teachers in early childhood education at Chatham University. She is currently the coordinator of community outreach at Partnerships for the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project at the University of Pittsburgh, a member of the Pittsburgh Poetry Society since 2018, and has been a Madwoman in the Attic at Carlow University for eight years. Her work has appeared in the Poetic Classroom, Voices in the Attic and the Mennonite.
Nina Barbuto Assemble founder and executive director
“We are so grateful to have this opportunity to participate in the Rain Poetry Project through PA Humanities! The project was a beautiful example of a range of creative community members making something that has a ripple effect in the neighborhood. Watching the kids perform their poems that were installed as well as some new ones written that day at the celebration made my heart swell. It wasn't just the rain making the invisible poems show, it was my tears of joy. I get to pass the park on my way to work and it is a constant reminder of the possibilities when we collaborate in lifting up youth voices and stories.”
Tany Haynes Assemble afterschool coordinator/ educator
“What I enjoyed most about the Rain Poetry Project was to be able to see the youth participate in creating public art for their community. Watching the creativity of the children flow as they developed their poems with Ms. Karen Howard was delightful. I am pleased that this project was able to inspire the youth and showcase their unique voices.”
Leanna Lyle Site manager, YouthPlaces Northview Heights
“My biggest thing is trying to get the kids off their phones and positively communicating with one another. (I love) the fact that they were debating what they were writing, saying, ‘That doesn’t sound right, let’s try this.’ They were talking to one another, debating what they were creating and problem solving in real time. I enjoyed that. It brought a smile to my face.”
Weston White Associate director, YouthPlaces
“Our communities are always referenced when negativity occurs and YouthPlaces, along with PA Humanities, wanted to shine a positive light on the amazing teens in the Northview Heights community. Watching their faces when their poems were revealed was an unexplainable feeling that I'll never forget!”
“When I was (assisting) at Northview Heights I saw the students enjoying a process they weren’t familiar with. It was new for them, and I saw a sense of accomplishment watching them process and then get to the goal. For the Lighthouse students (who had prior experience writing haiku poetry), I was just proud to see how confident they were in their ability to write. They thought they were going to show off because they were comfortable doing it, and that was kind of cool.”
“Haikus are one of my favorite forms of poetry. Despite their brevity, they convey profound meaning and serve as excellent mental exercises. I hope students will leverage the experience of writing haikus and creating cryptids to broaden their perspectives and develop creative solutions for their desired changes.”
“Bringing this project to life was an absolute joy! From the very first moment we read the students' haikus, we knew we were in for something special. Guiding each poem from paper to vibrant designs, unboxing the vinyl and stencils, and finally installing them at these beloved community sites—it was a creative journey filled with excitement. But the true highlight was witnessing the pure bliss on the kids' faces as they unveiled their work, seeing their words shine in the public eye. It was incredibly inspiring, and we're deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such fantastic organizations in our city.”
“It was interesting because we were working with so many different age ranges. The poems range from things that could be more serious subject matter to something that’s entirely silly, abstract and fun, and I love the fun.”
Rain Poetry program curriculum development consultants and project advisors –Philadelphia: Trapeta B. Mayson • Yolanda Wisher • Dr. Cathleen Cohen
Design and installation consultants
Anshika Lal and Alex Gilliam • Tiny WPA
Assemble, located in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood, is a place where they use learning as a tool to create a more equitable future for youth and learners throughout Pittsburgh. Assemble seeks to build confidence through making, connect learners, makers, technologists and artists, and nurture agency in learners.
PA Humanities partnered with Assemble to engage with youth in their afterschool program for third through fifth graders. They were exploring the theme “the future” throughout the school year, and wanted to build on that through Rain Poetry. Karen Howard began the workshop by teaching the history of haiku and what makes a haiku poem, then helped the students to think of some of the things that might exist in their future world. They collaborated to write their poems, which reflect the tremendous imagination and sense of whimsy they brought to the project. Some students even made up their own words to describe their vision of tomorrow!
Assemble theme:
The pig is lovely
The flower is big and bright
Pig hops on flower
– Da’lasia W, 1st grade
– Zoey H, 4th grade
– Emilia B, 5th grade
I don’t know your name I don’t like eating lemons I love DisneyLand
– Peyton L, 3rd grade
Raging dogs catch me
Dogs plunge in the dry water
We squish computer
– Nozomi, 5th grade
– Marcus C, 5th grade
Fish bolt through the sky
Squish panda nest in the school
Pittsburgh cookie ladies
– Nozomi, 5th grade
– Marcus C, 5th grade
VR is very nice
VR could be better in time
VR is great now
– Miko H, 5th grade
What will the future bring? Nobody will know till then I hope it is nice
– Miko H, 5th grade
Lemonade is sour
Lemonade is super sour I don’t like lemons
– Ayden L, 4th grade
The egg is hatching
The egg is hatching right now
The egg has hatched
– Ayden L, 5th grade
Chip kingdom is fun
Nacho-boings and slyinggods
They are cool and rad
– Chris B, 4th grade
We are the four friends
Eat ramen or face tickles
Together, we fly
– Lula S, 5th grade
– Aliana M, 4th grade
– Elise B, 5th grade
– Elijah H, 5th grade
Weird Carla is green
Mozzarella flowers bloom
I’m so excited
– Assemble class collaboration
YouthPlaces was founded in 1997 as a community response to an overwhelming need for afterschool programs for teens in high-risk, underserved communities. The organization creates safe spaces and experiences that inspire young people to imagine, explore, and design their own futures in order to help them to become happy, healthy and dynamic adults.
For Rain Poetry, PA Humanities partnered with YouthPlaces at their location at Northview Heights, a neighborhood on Pittsburgh’s North Side that is also the largest public housing development in the city. Many of the youth involved in the program are young teens, and they wanted to counter the prevailing narrative about their neighborhood as a dangerous and scary place to be after dark by writing about “Northview Nights.”
In the first workshop, teaching artist Karen Howard had the students brainstorm and reflect on what they see, smell, hear and do at night in their neighborhood. Site manager Leanna Lyle worked with the teens between sessions, and the second Rain Poetry workshop was devoted to writing and refining their haiku. Their poems reflect a young person’s life in a community where violence does exist, but laughter, family, games, togetherness, beauty and rest are a bigger part of their stories and experiences.
At the community reveal celebration, we invited residents to write their own haiku and add their unique voices to the Rain Poetry project. We share those here as well.
YouthPlaces theme:
Friends shooting brothers
Football fly to the full moon
Street lights look like stars
– YouthPlaces collaboration
People see cars fly
Black helicopters fly too Stars are by the moon
– YouthPlaces collaboration
Warzone or Fortnite
Why should I choose? I’ll play both Who’s on what game now?
– Keon J, 13
Paige is annoying
To my room to get away Little sisters, man!
– Keon J, 13
My eyes keep closing
In my room lying in bed
Time to sleep, good night!
– Marlaya J, 14
Love is a feeling No stealing or drug dealing I don’t steal, I heal!
– Keith G, 19
Laughter in the night As moths dance around porch lights We got that on sight
– Zyanna J, 13
I see smoke rising Flames reaching up to the sky I need a burger
– Keyshay, 15
– Manny, 17 – Tyquan, 18
Moonlight and leaves show The air is warm and humid It’s shining and bright
– Zyanna J, 13
Forest and jungle
All leafy, grassy and long
Trees grow and sun shows
– Zyanna J, 13
Dogs run and attack
In the park under the moon
Makes me feel afraid
– Keyshay, 15
– Carleton, 14
– Manny, 17
– Keith, 13
– Keeten, 13
Sleeping in my bed
Tired and comfortable
Getting beauty rest
– Kazmere, 13
Cars cruising slowly
Looking at the stars and moon
Listening to crickets
– Zy’Onia, 13
– Kheontae, 13
– Ray, 13
– Naomi, 7 – Sin’orie, 13
I can run up fast
Like I can climb up very fast I like running fast
– Zy’Onia, 13
Rain is very strong
It is wet, makes flowers grow
I do not like rain
– Nyaila, 8
Rain shine every day
Rainbow comes out the sky blue
Rain drop on the table
– Mi’onna, 11
I have a big heart
My mother has a big heart
And strong vibes also
– Mi’onna, 11
Rainbows are so great
Above me, up in the sky
So much fun to look
– Hamsa, 16
Indulge in this mess
World is putting me at rest
Obliged to live with stress
– Moe, 16
This event is rad
It is a great day today I like the color teal
– Ketaya, 18
Roses can be red
Violets are also blue
Birds fly together
– Valeri, 63
Rain is a blessing
Should be used to wash away
The stressing of life
– Isolena, 13
My name is Keshia
I love my kids and their friends I AM the village!
– Keshia, 21
Roses are so red
Violets are very blue
We love God I know you do!
– Sabirin, 9
Loud knock at the door
Footsteps going down the stairs
Life will never be the same
– Keke, 13
The Lighthouse Project is a space for teens at YMCA Homewood/Brushton that offers the opportunity to explore creativity through a variety of media. This spring, the students explored cryptids – creatures that some believe roam or roamed the earth but whose existence has never been proven. Every culture has its own cryptids that appear in folklore and mythology, with Bigfoot, Krampus and the Jersey Devil being some well-known examples.
The students created their own cryptids, which included artistic representations of what they look like, recordings of what they sound like, and written descriptions of their creatures’ origins, powers and temperaments. Working within that framework, the students wrote their haiku on the theme “Secrets and hidden places of Homewood.”
Teaching artist Karen Howard expanded on the theme through a discussion of places in Homewood’s history that no longer exist, including the National Negro Opera Company house – a well-known safe place for famous Black athletes, performers and those passing through Pittsburgh to gather and rest – as well as Silver Lake, a once picturesque lake that was filled in and paved over during the Great Depression. She prompted students to think about what they or their cryptids might see or experience visiting these places, and you can see many of these influences reflected in their poetry.
YMCA theme:
Towering unknown
The joy of being alone
Fester, rekindle
Harmonious tunes
Helpful inspiring
Will protect us all
– Azadiel Watts (teaching artist assistant), 22
Fluffy Like soft clouds
Marshmallow melting sweetly
The taste of happiness
Joy in being alone
Irreversibility
Happiness with friends
Waves bring joy today
Tomorrow swimming in lake
This brings joy in life
– Emarion G, 15
A forest of life
The sounds of sirens calling
Silence in the dark
Roads of poison snakes
Sounds of roads cracking now
Gods of the past
The rainbow of things
The shallow of waters deep
Silence in the dark
– Arianna M, 15
Softly lavender
Short temporal shapeshifting being
A helpful creature
Legless and slimy
Tall human in formalwear
Protecting nature
Adorable fairy
Humanoid mystery man
Beautifully sacred
– Jayden J, 16
Lavender and pink
Careful ears listen with joy
Fuzzy and purple
Not able to see
Iridescent and slimy
Able to shapeshift
Protective and earthy
And helpful tree shaped tunes
Healing harmonies
– Layla J, 14
Hugs help with others
Its smiley attitude helps
It's quite sensitive
An angry Creature
It’s pretty quiet and sharp
Takes clear human form
The beautiful voice
And the earth attitude
Comfort is the key
– Aryah M, 16
My safe place is mine
My happy place is so great
The Y comforts me
My world is supreme
Mm room is very quiet
My world is peaceful
My world is safer
My safe place is in my room
Safer in the Y
– Emile G, 15
A creep of many
A monster a fiend even Brings joy to faces
The room feels with joy
Odd faces never seen before Skin of crayons
Colorful skin bright
Brings joy with appearance
Happy thoughts linger
– Sai P, 18
Sweet and comforting
Sentimentalization
Full of tenderness
Mysteriousness
Never usually seen yet Concealed in plain sight
Loving and quiet
Hidden beautifully placed
Full of homely spark
– Ziann W, 16
A color so bright
Please show me the path of why
Happy is a fight
Living form of dark
Associated with hate
Brings kindness unmatched
A rainbow that's yours
Consuming your lives of lore Life is does give more
– Gabrielle C, 16
Independent evaluator Beth Uzwiak, PhD, gathered data to consider the impact of Rain Poetry within equity-centered humanities values and practices, and to inform, guide and fine-tune the project in other towns and cities in Pennsylvania. Included among the many outcomes, she found:
• Literacy and socio-emotional skills: Rain Poetry was successful in teaching youth to write haikus and learn about its form and history. They practiced skills such as creative self-expression, sharing with peers and storytelling.
• Community building: Students participated in the wider goal of the project, which was to activate the humanities in public spaces by inviting project partners, families, students and community members to celebrate youth imagination into public space.
In addition to gathering feedback from teaching artists and program partners in Pittsburgh, PA Humanities asked students at the conclusion of each workshop how they felt writing poetry. Here is what they said:
write more interesting
awesome I felt good aight I learned a better me stronger all worked together nice
connect with words love writing poetry
calming
real good
The Heinz Endowments, the Richard King Mellon Foundation, the Grable Foundation, Karen Howard, Nina Barbuto, Tany Haynes, Weston White, Leanna Lyle, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and the leadership at Northview Heights, Ahmed Khalfani “K” Bey, Zena Ruiz, Azadiel Watts, Shane Pilster, Max Gonzales, Maggie Richardson, Joe Appel Photography, and April Hartmann Illustration and Design.
Thank you for all your support bringing this incredible creative vision to life!
We are excited to expand this project to more regions of Pennsylvania and are happy to share lessons learned and be a resource to others who want to create this magical and educational experience in their own community. Contact us at hello@pahumanities.org.
Illustrations and design by Pittsburgh-based artist, April Hartmann
