Early Bird

Join D-phi’s virtual poetry reading

D-phi’s Poiesis Oasis is an online space to build creative community.

By Lindsey Coulter

November 2, 2020

Roadrunners and community members are invited to build virtual community through poetry by participating in the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry’s Poiesis Oasis: A Virtual Poetry Lounge project, part of a collaboration with RedLine’s citywide “Checking In” initiative.

The English word “poetry” derives from the Greek term “poiesis,” which once enjoyed a much broader meaning than it does today. In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates said that anything “responsible for creating something out of nothing is a kind of poiesis (poetry).” Based on this philosophy, the Poiesis Oasis is an online space for building creative community and an interactive place where art and poetry become vehicles for exploring ideas, sharing inspiration and overcoming a sense of isolation via the written and spoken word.

“Together, we hope to generate an oasis of words and ideas, from which we can all draw some much-needed inspiration, insight and a sense of collective creativity,” said Adam Graves, Ph.D., professor, Philosophy, and director of D-phi.

To participate:

1. Record yourself reading a few lines from a favorite poem using your phone (videos/audio recordings must be less than 60 seconds long);
2. Direct-message your video or audio recording to our Instagram (@dphidenver) or Facebook (@dphidenver);
3. Explain briefly in your message why you selected the poem, what it means to you or how it’s helped you find inspiration in a time of social isolation (or anything else you’d like to say about it).

D-phi will share videos and interpretations on its Instagram page, @DphiDenver, with the hashtags #PoiesisOasis, #CheckingIn and #DphiDenver. 

Other D-phi events, including an interdisciplinary panel on language, a conversation with a director at the Denver Film Festival and a retrospective focusing on director Atom Egoyan, can be found on the D-phi website.