By Susan Jedrzejewski, McColl Center for Visual Art

“There’s a general impression that poetry is safe,” says Knight Foundation Writer-in-Residence P. Scott Cunningham, who is looking to subvert the usual poetry reading. On Tuesday, June 28, Cunningham will shake things up by adding a new level of theatricality and drama. Stripped of titles, introductions, and banter, Cunningham will tower above the audience as he stands atop custom scaffolding built on the exterior walls of McColl Center for Visual Art. Disclaimer: This is not your mother’s poetry reading!

As a response to his bell-tower studio at the Center, Cunningham’s one-time performance includes both original poetry and fragments from poems that have heavily influenced his work. And not knowing where one piece ends and the other begins, this 30-minute composition is sure to keep you captivated.

P. Scott Cunningham: “The inspiration for my performance is the studio itself, specifically its former use as the church’s bell tower. Since a house of worship is often referred to as “the body of the church”, it’s logical to think of the bells as the church’s voice, with the tower as mouth, the bell as tongue, etc. I’ve been contemplating that with the removal of the bells, the building was metaphorically rendered “speechless.” This performance is designed to momentarily restore that speech, while calling attention to essential differences between past, present, and future uses of the space.”

From Miami, the Center’s inaugural Writer-in-Residence, P. Scott Cunningham, looks at poetry as one conversation where his personality, concerns and mental processes are always present with real emotion. He is the founder of the University of Wynwood, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing contemporary literature in Miami and the director of O, Miami. Cunningham has a BA in Religious Studies from Wesleyan University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Florida International University. He has been published nationally including works in the Harvard Review, Roanoke Review and The McSweeney’s Joke Book of Book Jokes (Vintage, 2009).