Artist Statement

As a kid, I played Scrabble alone, took the wooden-tile words created during each game and wove them into a story.

I've never lost that early fascination with wordplay. As a teen, I began arranging words into poetry and later became a journalist.

Not long ago, I printed one of my vintage self-portrait poems onto magnetic paper, disassembled it word by word, stuck the words on the fridge and rearranged them. I was astounded to see how many of the same old words could be used in new ways to pinpoint my present reality.

That exercise was so interesting and gratifying, I knew I had to find a way to share the concept. This website is one facet of my effort to do so. Here, you'll reposition others' words to discover new meanings. I hope it inspires you and that you'll return daily for a new challenge!

Special thanks to:

• Site designer Emily Houlihan, who, with great patience, creativity and ingenuity, transformed this dream into reality.
• Co-poem-renovator, co-dreamer and sister, Becky Burre, who contributed immensely to the creative vision.
• Graphic designer Jane Burre, who created our amazing logo.
• My daughter, artist Emily de la Rocha, who hand-painted the color swatch in our logo.
• Graphic designer Jenn Ozgur, who curated the site’s lovely color palette.

~ Kelly de la Rocha, creator of Poem Renovation