PHOTO PROVIDED An example of the work created by older adults in the class at Ridgelines is pictured above.

PHOTO PROVIDED
Ridgelines Language Arts teaching artist, Robyn Rydzy, works with older adults who live with memory loss on a new poem.

LOCK HAVEN — Poems written by older adults living with memory loss will be on display at the Ross Library in downtown Lock Haven throughout November.

The exhibit celebrates a poetry-writing program led by Centre County nonprofit Ridgelines Language Arts and serves residents of Centre Care Nursing and Rehabilitation, Central Pennsylvania’s largest low-income nursing facility.

“A Poem in Our Eyes” highlights the intellectual and creative capacities of people living with memory loss and dementia. Both the poems and the images that inspired them are on display, creating an exhibition that honors participants’ imaginations and challenges conventional notions of disability.

Every spring since 2018, a group of older adults gathers with teaching artist Robyn Rydzy for ten weekly sessions to write collaborative poems inspired by images that are shared and discussed as a group.

“Together we wonder aloud about what we see,” explains Rydzy. “We use our senses and our imaginations. We reminisce, disagree, question, laugh and create. Each participant has lost so much — their memories, their sense of place and time, their spouses, careers and homes. But for this hour together, they gain a new identity: they are poets.”

The program’s goals are to provide rich intellectual experiences and support mental and emotional well-being for those living with memory loss. The sessions foster social connection and provide participants with opportunities to communicate creatively, see that their words and imaginations are valued, and experience the satisfaction of making something new.

“As the teaching artist, I let everyone know that we’re here to let our imaginations run loose — there are no right or wrong answers. Whatever people say gets written on a whiteboard for all to see. Although my hand is involved in copying down and lineating the poems, all of the words and titles come directly from participants,” explains Rydzy.

Each year, Ridgelines curates a new exhibit of poems and images, which travels to public libraries and community spaces across Central Pennsylvania.

This is the first time “A Poem in Our Eyes” has appeared at the Ross Library.

Founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2017, Ridgelines Language Arts provides community arts education for people who are impacted by stigma and injustice in the rural ridges and valleys of Central Pennsylvania. Their programs — from poetry and storytelling to songwriting and journaling — take place in settings outside of traditional classrooms, including our region’s low-income nursing home, domestic violence shelter, youth detention center, state women’s prison, community youth centers, queer and trans youth groups, and more.

For more information, visit ridgelineslanguagearts.org or follow Ridgelines on Facebook and Instagram.