Waite Park Public Library Adds Sidewalk Poetry to Reading Garden

WAITE PARK -- There's a new art display outside the Waite Park Public Library.

Last week, the city added several pieces of sidewalk poetry into the library's outdoor reading garden. Project Director John Bowden says the poetry is a nice addition to library.

"This is another thing in trying to add to the reading garden to try to enhance the public library in Waite Park," says Bowden.

Bowden says around 30 poems were submitted as part of a contest to decide which poems would be stamped into the sidewalk.

"The library staff last March had a contest where children and adults could enter poetry and narrowed the entries down to the top four," says Bowden.

The library was awarded a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board to help cover some of the roughly $5,000 construction cost.

The city still needs to add a few benches and some color to the lettering to help the poems stand out, which should be done in the next few weeks.