LISTEN: A Poetry Jukebox Highlights Greenwich Village Voices

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A poetry jukebox has replaced the roar of traffic at a busy intersection with the voices of famed poets reciting their work.

The canary yellow contraption was placed at the Ruth Written Berg triangle this summer in partnership with the Village Alliance and the Czech group Piana na Ulici, or Pianos on the Street, which has installed the spoken word boxes across the globe in cities including Prague, Brussels and Belfast. Each speaker box features a lineup of poems tailored to its setting with recordings of the original artists reading their work.

New Yorkers can bring the verse to life with the push of a button.

"We believe that listening to the original voices of poets is one of the most beautiful and inspiring experiences a city can offer," reads the project's description on the Village jukebox.

A speaker pumps the prose through the hook-shaped jukebox with a selection of poems by 20 poets, most of whom lived or worked in the area, including "The Beat Generation" by Jack Kerouac, "Neighborhoods In Action" by Jane Jacobs and "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg.

On a recent weekday afternoon New Yorkers paused to listen to Wystan Hugh Auden read "Tell me the Truth About Love," and other poems, taking a break from the day with a seat at a neighboring plaza.

"I feel like my soul was just nourished," said Susan Densmore, 61, who stopped on her way back to work from lunch to listen to the limericks. "This is a neighborhood with such a rich history of artists, it's nice that this helps highlight that to visitors and even locals."

Last February, Howl Arts, Inc. helped bring a poetry jukebox to the East Village on East First Street that played works by well-known writters and up-and-coming wordsmiths.

The Village Alliance manages the Ruth Written Berg triangle, which is owned by the city's Department of Transportation. The organization and city agency collaborated with Pianos on the Street to find the temporary home for the box where it will continue to spout verse until February, 2019.

"It's a gift to be able to enjoy the spoken word," said Daniella LaRocco, the director of planning and economic development with the Village Alliance. "I just hope that people feel that they can hear another side of the Village."

Photo courtesy of Caroline Spivack/Patch