Image of poetry broadside with orange and red background and a picture of a dog with tongue hanging out. Poetry text on the image: Title Oakley. There's a Warm Place by Joey Ohno, age 11. With my dog, wind blowing, dog ears flapping, moments ticking, tranqil lights, weightless body, harmonizing chorus, inside my head. Joy is forming.

“Words of Courage,” Featuring 20 Brilliant Young Poets, to Visit 7 Library Locations

Alive with saturated color and a ferocity of emotion, “Over the Meadows, Under the Sun,” opened this month at the Beacon Hill Branch. This year’s “Words of Courage” exhibition features 20 vibrant prints that capture the joy and creativity of 20 brilliant young poets — all pediatric patients at Seattle Children’s hospital.

“Words of Courage” is an annual collaboration between Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL), Partners in Print (PiP), and Seattle Children’s. For the past 17 years, SAL has placed professional, local writers at Seattle Children’s to support pediatric patients experiencing long-term hospitalization. Lit Care, as the program is known, is a branch of SAL’s well-known Writers in the Schools program. Working in close partnership with the hospital’s education and palliative care teams,  Lit Care writers help patients get their brilliance, humor, and unique perspectives onto the page. Since its founding, Lit Care has served approximately 4,000 youth.

Since 2011, SAL has partnered with local visual arts leader Partners in Print to help the young poets turn their work into “Words of Courage,” an annual portfolio of poetry broadsides by Lit Care poets. Once the the poems are completed, skilled letterpress artists bring the words to life with dynamic color and illustration. Every year, the portfolio travels to multiple locations of The Seattle Public Library. See this year’s schedule below.

Poetry broadside titled Rainbowland 67 with a blue background showing clouds and sunshine. Author is Jaspen Ochoa, 8. Poetry says On a rainy sunny day there was a rainbow. the first rainbow ever. Everybody screamed. "there's a rainbow. The rainbow was in the shape of 6 and 7. Red. Orange and yellow were the colors of the 6. green, blue, and purple were the colors of the 7. It was cloudy. The rainbow dissolved and the people were sad.
One of the poems featured in this year’s “Words of Courage”

For Ann Teplick, longtime Lit Care writer, helping youth at Seattle Children’s express themselves through the written word is endlessly meaningful. “I love getting to know youth and their families at Children’s. Big hearts, everywhere,” says Teplick. Families echo a mutual sentiment. “For a small-town kid from eastern Washington who’s spent much of the last 18 months in treatment – and away from home – this was an incredibly special experience for he and I both,” one father relayed. “It has meant a great deal to our family.”

This year’s “Words of Courage” exhibit – titled “Over The Meadows, Under The Sun” — features work that includes superheroes (one with “a protein energy drink that gives you enough energy to eat a cake!”), two stuffy best friends (one a cupcake, one a chicken nugget), and an aardvark that eats an apricot. Intrigued? Exactly.

Poetry broadside titled Yellow Things by Grace Fakoya age 9, with illustration of two parrots. Poetry text says What is yellow? Yellow is the color of a dress a lemon, a market, and a flower. Yellow is the color of happiness. It's the color of joy, a color of love. Yellow is the color of the sun. It's the color of a shoe, the color, the color of a bag. What is green? Green is the color of good health. Green is the color of the trees, the color of grass. Green is the color of an apple. It's the color of a hat. What is red. Red is the color of lipstick. It's the color of a clock. Red is the color of a pencil. the color of a bed.

Catch the exhibition at the Beacon Hill Branch until the end of September, after which it will begin its journey to six other Library locations. Here is the schedule:

Learn more about PiP and view the archive of previous “Words of Courage” portfolios. Learn more about SAL and how to support Lit Care.

– Jennifer Lobsenz, Director of Arts Education at Seattle Arts & Lectures

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