From Palmer Square to Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton.
By: Jennifer Potash
Like marigolds blossoming in the fall, so will a new version of Writers Block, the popular collection of whimsical structures and landscaping that filled a vacant lot off Palmer Square last year.
The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton Township has acquired four of the follies and intends to open an outdoor exhibits in the fall, said Brook Barrie, executive director.
"We still have to identify a place for them, but my hope is to put a project together for the fall," she said. "It will be a wonderful addition."
The follies, listed by author and architect, are:
Peter Singer, whose writings are often credited with sparking the animal-rights movement, designed by architect Peter Wasem and constructed with copper wire;
Joyce Carol Oates, the prolific and award-winning fiction writer, whose cedar folly built in abstract forms captures the writer’s sense of being in constant motion by architect Gil Rampy;
Cornel West, Princeton University professor and writer, a trumpet-shaped design made of honeycomb aluminum by architects John Nastasi and Sharon McHugh; and
Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet, with a copper-clad folly designed by architect Leslie Dowling.
Writers Block was conceived by Peter Soderman, a landscape artist, Kevin Wilkes, an architect with the Princeton Design Guild, and Alan Goodheart, a landscape architect.
The 11 follies plus a 19th-century barn, rows of corn and other landscaping filled an empty building lot at the back of Palmer Square, off Paul Robeson Place, from June to November.
To help recover costs of the initiative, the follies were auctioned in late October.
Mr. Wilkes said the idea that the Writers Block follies will continue to be available to reach new audiences is very gratifying.
"It will summon memories for those who saw Writers Block and provide a little taste for those who did not," Mr. Wilkes said. "It’s very exciting."
He praised Susan Gillis who, with her son, became a fan of Writers Block, purchased three of the follies and was a staunch promoter for the follies going to the Grounds for Sculpture.
A folly, named "Hands Together," in honor of the late Barbara Sigmund, a borough mayor, and designed by her husband, Paul Sigmund, as well as architect John James Rivera, will be installed in Barbara Sigmund Park, off Hamilton Avenue in the borough, after the weather warms, Mr. Wilkes said.
Princeton Borough resident Polly Burlingham won the auction for the "Hands Together" folly with the intent of adding it to the park in honor of Ms. Sigmund. The cedar wood structure features a lattice-like element opening toward the sky with an opening at the floor with four bamboo shoots. Ms. Burlingham launched a fund-raising campaign to cover the $4,000 cost of the folly plus an additional $1,600 for moving and installing the structure in the park.
Anyone who would like to donate to the folly’s cost may send a check made out to The Borough of Princeton to her residence at 28 Scott Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540. Ms. Burlingham said all checks will be turned over to the borough. The donations may be tax-deductible, she said.

