Backed by the Indiana Arts Commission, the INverse Poetry Archive is a new way for Hoosier poets to express themselves and get published. Check out our top 5 poems from the spring! Explore the entire collection of poems online.
- Blessing of the Bikes: Bean Blossom Boogie
This poem, written by Katerina Tsiopos in 2001, celebrates the rich subculture of motorcyclists in Indiana. Every spring, motorcycle riders, enthusiasts, and collectors from all over, take to the roads for the Midwest’s Best Biker Fest (a nationally renowned four-day festival) in Bean Blossom, Indiana. In the past, the outdoor party has amassed more than 20 thousand bikers. This poem celebrates the warm weather and the experience of motorcyclists throughout the summer.
- Indiana rain
This poem was written by Jeffrey Owen Pearson in 2020. Pearson plays with the fun, international names of towns around the state of Indiana. Indiana’s strange and inconsistent weather inspires Pearson’s language. He has fun comparing the country of Mexico with the city Mexico, Indiana. He does the same with many other hilariously coincidental town names around this beautiful state.
- Late Summer in Indiana, as the Earth Passes…
An older yet great read, written by poet Jessica S. Reed in 2015, this poem uses the mundane nature of Indiana summers to highlight the author’s slow drift through life. Reed describes the beautiful night skies above Indiana. She uses descriptive and colorful language to tell how even the mundane recurrence of Indiana summers kept her grounded and gave her something incredible to look forward to each year.
- Beginning With a Line From Wendell Berry
Coming from Indiana’s own State Poet Laureate Matthew Graham, this poem begins with a line written by the novelist Wendell Berry. Graham takes this line and creates a poetic image painted with imaginative words that depicts Indiana in the fall. He discusses the passage of summer and the weather’s slow descent into autumn. The poem is a unique way to approach emotional closure and grief. Graham deals with themes of resurgence after obstacles.
- In the Wood
This unique poem, a 2016 collaboration between the Quilt Connection Guild and Brick Street Poetry, was intended to link urban and rural creatives using poetry and quilt-making. The poem was written by Elizabeth Krajeck and the accompanying quilt was made by Linda Rowda. The two complement each other by illustrating a patchwork of the diverse cultures across Indiana. The poem explores the changing flora and fauna across the state, ending by returning to a certain tree beloved by the author. It is a wonderful depiction of Indiana, a state where one can experience anything from a bustling city-center to a rich, rural countryside.
These five poems are only a small selection of what is available (absolutely free!) on the INverse website. The Indiana Arts Commission and Indiana State Library are excited to open the opportunity to submit work to the archive to any creative and poetic Hoosiers! Follow this link to submit your own original work for review. Support your fellow Indiana natives and discover poetry through INverse.
Published April 12, 2021