Poetry Readings at Turrell Skyspace

After participating in the Planet Texas Symposium, please write and share videos/photos reflecting on your experience. Explore the potential of this type of experience with our Haiku Horizons immersive experience.

• They chose the location of the poetry reading to be in James Turrell Skyspace. The Skyspace lights up with colorful RGB lights every day at dusk and dawn. One of the facilitators said that they chose Skyspace as the location for this Planet Texas Symposium event, because this structure and visual light show exists through a collaboration effort between the position of the sun and the light sensors. A cloud or a bird flying above becomes part of the art piece. It also does not exist without our intense attention. I think it would be cool if our immersive experience had some aspects that required a collaboration with the natural environment in order to function.

• As I was listening to the poems, I noticed how each poem was mysterious in that they evoked emotions that I haven’t felt in a long time. Their depth invited me to pause, reflect, and investigate meaning within the words. Before I knew it, I became “immersed” and completely wrapped up in hearing, feeling and thinking of the meaning in each poem. Now, as I reflect, I realize that a good poem is kind of like an immersive experience. They both engage the senses, emotions, and imagination. Unlike other forms of storytelling good poem invites reflection, mystery, and expansion that words cannot express. I became curious as to how a poem has the power to evoke emotions, situations, and experience in such a unique way. To explore this, I looked into the elements that make a poem “immersive” and impactful:

  • “1. Sound & Rhythm

    • Meter & Cadence – The flow of words, whether smooth, jagged, or rhythmic, can evoke emotion.

    • Alliteration & Assonance – Repeating consonant or vowel sounds creates musicality.

    • Rhyme & Internal Rhyme – These add a sense of structure or surprise.

    • Silence & Pauses – Strategic breaks (caesura, line breaks) create tension, emphasis, or breathability.

    2. Imagery & Sensory Details

    • Visual Imagery – Vivid descriptions paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

    • Tactile Imagery – Descriptions of touch, texture, temperature add physicality.

    • Auditory Imagery – Sounds (both natural and human-made) add depth.

    • Olfactory & Gustatory Imagery – Smell and taste can trigger memory and emotion.

    3. Emotion & Mood

    • Tone – The attitude (melancholic, ecstatic, eerie) shapes the reader’s experience.

    • Tension & Contrast – Juxtaposing emotions (e.g., beauty and decay) creates complexity.

    • Personal or Universal Connection – If readers feel seen or understood, they’re pulled in.

    4. Form & Structure

    • Line Breaks & Stanza Shapes – These affect pacing and how ideas unfold.

    • Free Verse vs. Fixed Forms – Playing with traditional forms (sonnets, haikus) or breaking them creates tension.

    • Concrete Poetry – The physical arrangement of words can reinforce meaning.

    5. Meaning & Layers of Interpretation

    • Metaphor & Symbolism – These make poems resonate beyond the literal.

    • Ambiguity & Open-Endedness – Allowing multiple meanings keeps the reader engaged.

    • Narrative or Fragmentation – A story-like structure or fragmented thoughts can make the poem feel like a journey.”

      OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 2 version).
      

My favorite poem from the Poetry Reading