Celebrate Collaborative Poetry With Michael Hill and Morning Edition

This episode of All of It features a conversation with Casey Tromer, a Queens-based poet and founder of Queensbound, a project that connects poets across the borough through audio recordings of neighborhood-specific poems. The discussion centers on the upcoming event 'Poetry Together: A Night of Collaboration and Community,' hosted by Michael Hill and the Morning Edition team, which celebrates collaborative poetry as a joyful, low-stakes way to connect people and spark creativity. Tromer shares how Queensbound began as a response to her failed bid for Queens Poet Laureate, evolving into an organic, community-driven project that maps poems to subway stations and fosters relationships among poets. She emphasizes the power of shared writing, vulnerability, and the sonic richness of diverse voices, especially in public spaces like the subway. The episode also highlights the importance of specificity in poetry—writing about real corners of neighborhoods rather than broad stereotypes—and showcases several poems from the project, including her own 'Comings and Goings,' which aired on Morning Edition as part of their 'Good Neighbors' theme. Key takeaways include: collaborative poetry fosters connection and discovery by lowering creative stakes; specificity in place and voice deepens emotional resonance; public spaces like subways are ideal venues for poetry that responds to the environment; vulnerability is essential to authentic creative expression; and community-driven projects can organically grow through word-of-mouth and shared purpose. The episode ends with a strong call to action to attend the free event at the Green Space on April 29th, emphasizing inclusivity and the joy of collective creation.