First Stanza of New Poem by Karen Dietrich Now on Greensburg’s North Main Street Bridge as Part of Ongoing Public Art Project

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Claire Ertl
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GREENSBURG, Pennsylvania (December 17, 2025) — The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is pleased to announce that the first stanza of Karen Dietrich’s poem, “Survival,” is now on view on the North Main Street Bridge in downtown Greensburg. The poem is displayed on Analog Scroll, created by visual artist Janet Zweig, as part of the Museum’s ongoing “Bridging the Gap” public art project. The remaining stanzas of Dietrich’s poem will be revealed on the bridge over the next 12 months, and the poem also appears on the Museum’s website.

Analog Scroll, a project featuring Southwestern Pennsylvania poets, is a site-specific artwork that activates the bridge on North Main Street, engaging both locals and visitors alike and working to “bridge the gap” from downtown Greensburg to the Museum. Each poem is displayed line by line, changing periodically until the completion of one poem and the beginning of the next. Analog Scroll uses three-dimensional metal letters held by tracks fastened to the concrete walls of the bridge to display the poem’s words. This installation marks the seventh poem written by a Southwestern Pennsylvania poet for this public art project.

Dietrich explained how the poem’s title, “Survival,” is tied to the theme of “Bridging the Gap, ” remarking that as she contemplated the theme, it sparked the idea of how we all reconcile different parts of ourselves and “bridge the gaps within to survive.”

“I feel very fortunate to have been selected for participation in ‘Bridging the Gap.’ Public art is so important, and Greensburg is lucky to have Analog Scroll as well as other displays of public art, like the Art in the Alley project and the murals in the parklet on Pennsylvania Avenue (both organized by the Westmoreland Cultural Trust),” stated Dietrich. “To have my poem displayed on the bridge is an honor, and an experience that is rare for a writer. Usually my words are hidden within the pages of books, not emblazoned on a bridge for all to see. I’m thrilled to contribute to the arts culture of downtown Greensburg in this very concrete (and aluminum) way.”

Karen Dietrich is a writer and musician living in Greensburg, PA. She is the author of Girl at the Edge (2020), a psychological thriller from Grand Central Publishing. She is also the author of The Girl Factory: A Memoir (2013) and several poetry chapbooks. Karen plays drums in the indie rock band Essential Machine.

Funding for this project was made possible through various sources, including a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town grant program award, The Heinz Endowments, Westmoreland County Tourism Grant Program, Community Foundation of Westmoreland County/Revitalizing Westmoreland, Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, Carol R. Brown, The Tomahawk Hill Foundation, and generous supporters of an Indiegogo campaign hosted by the Museum. Technical support throughout the project was provided by Shiftworks Community + Public Arts, the nonprofit formerly known as the Office for Public Art.

To read the full poem or learn more about Analog Scroll, please visit: https://thewestmoreland.org/bridging-thegap/.

About The Westmoreland Museum of American Art
Western Pennsylvania’s only museum dedicated to American art, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, offers meaningful and engaging cultural experiences that build community and inspire creativity, new ideas, and action through the power of art. The Westmoreland’s extraordinary permanent collection, with its strong focus on the art and artists of Southwestern Pennsylvania, is complemented by an impressive temporary exhibition schedule featuring both nationally traveling exhibitions and those organized by the Museum. Additionally, The Westmoreland presents a full slate of community-oriented events.

General admission to the Museum is free. The Museum’s operating hours are September–May: Wednesday–Sunday, 10am–5pm, (with the exception of Fridays from November 21–December 26, 2025 when hours are 12–8pm); June–August: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, 10am–5pm and Friday, 12–7pm. The Museum is closed Monday and Tuesday and on New Year’s Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

For more information, visit thewestmoreland.org.

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