Since 2001, the Syracuse Poster Project, a non-profit group, has published an annual series of posters blending haiku, a short-form poem, with a work of art. Over the years, the posters have referenced dozens of local subjects– the Jerry Rescue statue in Clinton Square, birds and other wildlife, the one-of-a-kind traffic light on Tipperary Hill, and much more.
From time to time, the project reinvents itself. That’s definitely the case with the 2024 posters; they focus entirely on historical figures, people with connections to the Syracuse area.
“We wanted to keep things fresh,” said Jim Emmons, the project’s long-time director. “We contacted the Onondaga Historical Association and asked them to develop a list of names.”
Ultimately, the OHA list was whittled down, and an open call went out for submissions. A three-person panel reviewed entries from 117 poets and 26 artists before selecting 12 posters for the 2024 series. It delves into people involved with the abolitionist movement, feminism, the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, sports such as baseball and lacrosse, and literature.
As usual, the writing is sparse and pertinent. For a poster devoted to the Rev. Jermaine Wesley Loguen and his daughter, Sarah Loguen, Jay Cox’s haiku states that “North Star shines bright on/Loguen’s station, safe passage/To liberation.” It’s accompanied by Chloe Flores’ illustration depicting images of the Loguens floating in the mists of history, and their home at the corner of Pine and East Genesee streets.
There, the Rev. Loguen operated a key station on the Underground Railroad. It’s estimated that he helped over 1,500 persons fleeing slavery and seeking freedom.
Sarah Loguen, meanwhile, graduated from the Syracuse University College of Medicine, the fourth African American woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. She practiced medicine both in Washington D.C. and in the Dominican Republic where she was the first female doctor.
The 2024 series also recognizes several cultural figures, one being Henry Keck, a stained-glass wizard whose work reflected an Arts-and-Crafts sensibility. He trained with Louis Comfort Tiffany before opening his own studio in Syracuse in 1913.
Patricia Tesla’s haiku reads as follows: “From a master’s hands/And colorful shards of glass/magical brilliance.” And James McCampbell’s illustration integrates images of Keck and his chief assistant, Stanley Worden, an expense of stained glass, and lots of light.
A third poster, combining Dennis Kinsey’s poem and Tyler Hill’s illustration. honors Alf Jacques, a wood stick maker and lacrosse ambassador. He played box lacrosse for the Onondaga Nation team and on a professional level, coached the Onondaga Redhawks team, and was instrumental in preserving and celebrating the craft of making wood sticks. He spoke about his work and lacrosse to classes at Syracuse University, Cornell University and a bevy of high schools and prep schools.
Hill’s illustration shows Alf Jacques sitting on a log and holding a shaft that’s been molded and bent; more work will be done to produce the stick in its final version. He’s wrapped up by a purple ribbon. At the top of the poster, six sticks hang in mid-air. They are both concrete and ethereal, symbolizing lacrosse’s spiritual overtones for Haudenosaunee culture.
A forth poster, marrying Joseph Favata’s haiku and Katie Mulligan’s art, recognizes Eric Carle, who was born in Syracuse and created a wildly popular children’s book, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” It sold more than 50 million copies.
And blues-and-folk musician Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten is the subject of a poster merging Sam Young’s haiku and Chris Madden’s art. Cotten wrote “Freight Train,” played guitar in an iconoclastic style, and received a Grammy award. She appears in rich orange and purple colors.
She’s also seen in a second poster incorporating Diane Lansing’s words and Brendan Clark’s artwork. It features imagery of a statue of Cotten in the Libba Cotten Grove, at the corner of South State and Castle streets.
Beyond that, the 2024 posters encompass L. Frank Baum, creator of the “Wizard of Oz,” as well as Karen DeCrow, an attorney, activist and author. She campaigned for inclusion of women as astronauts, for the right of a seven-year-old girl to play Little League baseball, for women being able to enter a New York City pub that had banned them. She was heavily involved with the National Organization for Women and ran for mayor of Syracuse in 1969.
Other posters reference Gustav Stickley and Moses Fleetwood Walker. Stickley, a key figure in the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States, coordinated a furniture-making facility in Eastwood and published “The Craftsman,” an influential journal , from 1901 to 1916. He believed in hand-crafted items rather than mass-manufactured goods.
During the 1880s, Walker, an African American, played baseball for teams from Toledo Syracuse and other cities. Then a segregationist regime banned African American players; that situation didn’t change until 1947 when Jackie Robinson took the field for the Montreal Royals, a Dodgers farm club.
The 2024 posters premiered at an April 19 reception and are now on display at various downtown sites: at kiosks on South Salina and South Warren streets, in a space by the downtown post office, and in panels on the rear of the Landmark Theater.
In addition, posters are on sale at the OHA gift shop, 321 Montgomery St., and Wildflowers Armory, 217 S. Salina St. To make an online purchase, go to www.posterproduct.org.
Corrections: This article originally identified Libba Cotten as “Libba Cotton.” This error has now been corrected. This article also originally stated that a piece of artwork featuring imagery of a statue of Libba Cotten in the Libba Cotten Grove, at the corner of South State and Castle streets, was illustrated by Chris Malden. It was illustrated by Brendan Clark. Central Current regrets these errors.
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