As the words turn to wounds, so the wounds turn to words,

each of them murmuring on the water. 

    On the pond in front of the University of North Florida’s Thomas G. Carpenter Library, Clark Lunberry of UNF’s English Department and several of his students (most especially Kelley Predieri) installed a large-scale poem directly onto the surface of the water.  During the first week, the poem—made of letters (8 ft. by 8 ft.) cut from thick plastic and installed with a kayak—read:  “MURMUR OF WORDS.”  Then, for the second week, the piece was adjusted (discreetly, and while no one was looking) to read:  “MURMUR OF WOUNDS.” 

    Simultaneously, installed in the four-story stairwell of the adjacent library—its tall windows facing directly onto the pond—there was an accompanying sound collage composed of the recorded voices of 25 randomly chosen library readers.  Heard throughout the stairwell (as well as now, on this website), the various voices mingled into a murmur, while the poem on the pond was seen directly below, its words floating upon the water.

WritingOnWater-MurmurOfWords.pdf

(click here for an essay on the Murmur of Words installation)