In keeping with the tradition of naming streets after literary and poetic giants, three new streets in Columbia will be named after works by the late Lucille Clifton, Maryland Poet Laureate from 1979-1985 and a former Columbia resident.
The three new streets will be in Downtown Columbia’s Lakefront neighborhood, and called Rustling Sky Way, Singing Stone Terrace and Distant Star Lane.
The tradition of naming streets after literary figures began with Columbia’s inception in the 1960s because of an agreement with postal officials not to duplicate any street names already in use in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, or Anne Arundel County.
According to a 2000 story in the Baltimore Sun, “Columbia named most of its 1,000-plus streets after literary and artistic works, and used [Robinson] Jeffers’ poetry for 137 of them. That’s twice as many as anyone else inspired. A household name like Mark Twain got only 29 — and at least one of those is in dispute.”
The article details the unlikelihood of Jeffers as a choice, given the darkness of his poems, filled as they are with “incest, rape, and the evils of Man.” Somehow, though, his poetry yielded surprisingly lovely phrasing particularly suited for street names.
“Painted Yellow Gate comes out of ‘The Double Axe and Other Poems’ — a 1948 volume that Time magazine panned as ‘a necrophilic nightmare.’
Lambskin Lane? From the poem ‘Decaying Lambskins.’
Winter Pasture Way? From ‘Tamar,’ a poem alluding to the biblical story of a brother and sister who have, shall we say, an unusually close relationship. Tamar Drive is a main thoroughfare in town,” according to the Sun article.
Clifton’s poetry isn’t so macabre, though it’s filled with mystery. For example, the poem “There is a Star” inspired the street name Distant Star Lane.
There is a star
more distant
than eden
something there
is even now
preparing
Lucille Clifton (2004)
According to Jean Moon, of Jean Moon and Associates, the other poems that inspired the street names were “Angels” (Rustling Sky Way) and “You” (Singing Stone Terrace.)
you
are not chosen
any stone
can sing
we come
to languages
not lives
your tongue
is useful
not unique
Clifton became a writer in residence at Coppin State College in Baltimore in 1971, where she completed two collections of poetry: “Good News About the Earth” (1972) and “An Ordinary Woman” (1974.) She won the National Book Award for “Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000” (2000), which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
“Two-Headed Woman” (1980) was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and won the University of Massachusetts Press Juniper Prize.
She wrote more than 16 books for Black children, and won an Emmy Award, a Lannan Literary Award, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the 2007 Ruth Lilly Prize, and many other prestigious awards.
Clifton died in 2010 at the age of 73.
The area in Lakefront North is a parking lot now but will be transformed into an 11.4-acre mixed-use community, including 701 residences. There will be 77 affordable units across three apartment buildings.
According to the press release, the neighborhood will also include “new retail, below-grade parking and enhanced connectivity to the lakefront as well as two community parks.”
“Lucille Clifton is one of Columbia’s most celebrated residents, a widely recognized and beloved writer who made her mark on our community as well as the larger world,” said Greg Fitchitt, president of the Columbia Region for The Howard Hughes Corporation. “Continuing Columbia’s tradition of naming streets after writers and other artists, we believe Lucille Clifton is the perfect choice to represent this area known as a garden for the growing of people and ideas.”
Fitchitt was joined at the announcement of street names by Clifton’s daughter, Lexi Clifton; Howard County Council member Deb Jung (District 4); and Tara Hart, co-chair of HoCoPoLitSo not-for-profit arts organization that organizes readings and other literary events in Howard County.
