Princeton Overcomes Bout of Writers Block; Sigmund Garden Folly to Find Home in Park

Matthew Hersh

The Writers Block 2004 has come to an end, but contrary to the writer's plague its name suggests, the experimental literary and design installation behind Palmer Square along Paul Robeson Place may have indeed written its future chapters in its inaugural season.

Under cloudy skies and atop soggy grounds, the Writers Block held an auction Saturday afternoon intended to help offset the almost $150,000 financing of the project. That number, organizers said, covered only the "hard" cost of physical materials and supplies, and not the manhours and labor that went into the enterprise.

Much to the disappointment of Writers Block organizers, the auction managed to rake in only $27,150, less than a fifth of what was needed to pay for the temporary installation.

"The financing and fund-raising angle was something we are not specialists in," said Kevin Wilkes, architect with the Princeton Design Guild and site coordinator and co-founder of the Writers Block, along with project coordinator Peter Soderman, events coordinator Hope Van Cleaf, and partnership coordinator Dana Lichtstrahl.

"We shouldered the financial burden personally," Mr. Wilkes said.

The project teamed area architects with local authors to create garden "follies" located in a temporary installation on a patch of unused land behind the Palmer Square Garage. That land will someday be the site of about 100 luxury apartments. The goal, organizers said, was to exhibit the community's literary and architectural background under the guise of urban renewal.

The result was 12 follies with teams that included author Peter Benchley and architect Andrew Outerbridge; author Joyce Carol Oates and architect Gil Rampy; author James McPherson and Mr. Wilkes. Dubious about the concept at first, the community warmed to the idea once the garden took shape.

Extensive programming began at the garden in August, including school trips and literary readings. But because there was no formal capital campaign ‹ the community donated about $6,000 ‹ it was the hope of the organizers that the cost would be covered by the auction.

And while the cost was a factor of frustration, organizers maintained they want to keep the dream alive in different incarnations.

"For us to come back, we have to team up with people who are as creative in the fund-raising world as we are in the arts world. We need to have the money in the bank ahead of time instead of having all of these artists lay out their own money under what proved to be a slightly delusional expectation that people would hand [the money] back to us in the end." Mr. Wilkes said.

Clearly, Mr. Wilkes added, the money was not the driving force behind the concept. The authors, architects, and design teams involved realized early on that they were taking part in an untested project without knowing what sort of response would be heard from the community.

As it turns out, the Writers Block was a rousing success from a community perspective, while leaving something to be desired on the financial end.

"I can assure you that many teams had some expectations to recoup their expenditures. Now, you can call that delusional, but sometimes those delusions lead to beautiful art."

Mr. Soderman agreed, saying this year was effectively a litmus test to gauge community feedback. "It came out of the oven and people know what it tastes like."

"Does any single one of these teams regret having done this? Absolutely not. Would they do it again knowing what they know now? I think they would, but we can't keep doing this forever. We couldn't come back and do another one and lose $123,000," Mr. Wilkes said.

"It's disheartening for me to see Kevin, the logistical head in the project, be in the hole for so much money," Mr. Soderman said. "But Kevin Wilkes is not complaining, and I'm not complaining: it achieved everything it was supposed to achieve conceptually.

"Kevin Wilkes was 'the man,' and this project can't go away, it has to be part of this town," he added.

Mr. Soderman was encouraged by those authors who did come out to see the projects inspired by their writings, citing a moving late-afternoon reading by civil war author James McPherson.

It was just a matter of time, Mr. Soderman said, before the people warmed up to the idea. "It was like a junior high dance: for the first hour, kids were scared to dance, but after that, they were ready to tango."

Although artistic dreams may not have resolved the various financial burdens, they did succeed in finding a place within the community. While the mood at the auction was festive as people celebrated the first of what they hope will be a long line of similar projects, there was sadness in the realization that this plot of land would no longer be occupied by the now-beloved product of community imagination.

About half the unsold follies are still available for offers. If interested, visit www.princetonwritersblock.com and contact Mr. Wilkes.

Polly Saves a Folly

About a month ago, garden designer Polly Burlingham of Green Gardens launched a campaign to bring the Paul Sigmund-inspired folly to Barbara Boggs Sigmund park. The goal was to raise enough money from the community to purchase Mr. Sigmund's folly and forever house it in the park that honors his wife, the former Princeton Borough Mayor who died in 1990.

After a public campaign, several letters to the editor, and $4,000 later, Ms. Burlingham, or "Buyer 214," got her wish after outbidding other interested buyers.

Ms. Burlingham's work is not yet done, however. Because her fund-raising campaign was quickly put together, she managed to raise only about two-thirds of the cost. The $4,000 purchase price does not include the expense of dismantling the structure and installing it in Sigmund Park.

"When I started my fund-raising, I had no idea how much the folly was going to go for, and I found that to be a difficult question when people would ask how much to contribute. I have almost enough, but am still looking for donations," she said. Donations can be made out to: Borough of Princeton, c/o Polly Burlingham, 28 Scott Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540. Ms. Burlingham can be contacted through Borough Hall.

Mr. Rivera, the architect behind the project, and a Princeton native, said he felt Ms. Burlingham's effort was indicative of the spirit of the Writers Block project.

"Princeton has given a lot to me, and I went into this project not expecting any monetary gains from it. For me, it's going to a good cause," Mr. Rivera said.

Some of the money raised by the Sigmund/Rivera folly will go to the Hands Together Project, an association promoting education in Haiti.

Dubbed the "Hands Together" folly, the structure is wide-open and composed of four elements to create the look of a small court. "It draws visitors in, and once in, they'll be able to view the rest of the park and be part of the surrounding area," Mr. Rivera said.

Mr. Rivera's sentiments were in concert with Mr. Wilkes' goal of creating an environment where visitors can find a garden-like setting in the middle of town. It so happened, Mr. Wilkes said, that it turned out to be more than he expected.

"We had grade schools come in with their classes showing the kids the follies. What ended up happening on the weekend was those same kids would show up with their families and educate their parents on the people behind the follies. Now that is awesome. It was pure, unadulterated joy."