Poster Image
$20
Item#: 2017SYR13
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
Benjamin Keeps Watch
poster information
Description
Benjamin keeps watch
where freedom rings each morning
a caffeine buzzer
Franklin Square is one of my favorite spots in Syracuse. Every spring the blossoms explode, people walk on the Creekwalk, and prom and bridal parties gather for photos. I always enjoyed taking my students' work and setting up a grading spot at the branch of Freedom of Espresso located there. My poem captures the square, the coffee shop, and that lovely idea of waking up and blooming. My husband and I had our engagement photos taken in Franklin Square, so it remains a very special location for me.
When I went to Franklin Square, the water tower really stood out. The haiku is also based on the coffee shop there, so I wanted to combine the two images. I finally came up with the idea of having the water tower be a coffee cup and incorporating the style of the buildings in the square. When I went to the square it was winter. I imagined what it would be like with all the blooming flowers, like it is in Syracuse in the spring. I love doodling flower-type, decorative things, so I was very comfortable coming up with different ways to represent flowers and nature. In my poster, you can see the doodles, but in a more sophisticated way. My goal was to make people want to go to that square, have a cup of coffee and look up at the nature.