Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2006SYR03
Purchase Details
11x17-inches, printed on heavy weight (100-pound) Hammermill cover paper. We package each print with a piece of chipboard in a clear plastic sleeve.
You also receive…
An information page with photos of the artist and poet, and hand-written comments from each.
Medium- and large-format posters are available by custom order. Contact us for details.
Poem Inspiration Location
The City Circles
poster information
Description
The city circles,
Fountains and cannas glint, and
Columbus surveys.
I was introduced to haiku as a child; then reintroduced as an adult when my daughter was in elementary school. I like the shortness and the framework of haiku. It's fun to play with. And the fact that it usually involves a natural theme—I enjoy that.
I'm a veterinary pathologist, trained as a veterinarian; so animals, plants and natural history have always been important to me.
For this haiku, I wanted something related to downtown, and I wanted to incorporate nature. I've seen cannas planted at Columbus Circle, and I thought that would be a fitting topic. Cannas come in many colors, but I love the vibrant red ones best. I've grown them myself. I dig up the tubers each fall before the freeze, and replant them every spring, and I've done that most every year for about 15 or 20 years.
When I initially read the poem, I was unsure what the “cannas” referred to. After looking it up, I discovered it was a type of flower. When I went to Columbus Circle to take reference photos, I saw the flowers for myself. They're very beautiful and a nice complement to the architecture and structures in the area.
I thought it would be nice to bring attention to the surprising amount of color. Syracuse is infamous for its gray atmosphere. It was nice to see the colorful flowers, surrounded by happy people sitting on benches or walking their dogs. I found the area to be very calm and serene—a beautiful addition to downtown Syracuse.