Are you a champion and ambassador for poetry in Attleboro? You might be just who we’re looking for! Inspired by our reading of United State Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s collection of poems, An American Sunrise, Attleboro’s 1ABC committee is seeking local applicants to be our city’s first poet laureate, serving for the year 2022.
Aspirants must be at least 18 years old, live in Attleboro and “be able and willing to share their love of poetry through readings, public appearances, and workshops, among other things,” says Amy Rhilinger, director of the Attleboro Public Library, spearhead of the annual NEA Big Read celebration that the city enjoys each Autumn.
The 1ABC committee unanimously chose a book of poetry for this year’s community wide read, citing the emotional impact of a short work of literature and the reader’s ability to read a page, or poem, at a time, depending on the amount of time they could spend reading. Heartened by recent interest in poetry after the former United States Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman brought poetry to this year’s Presidential Inauguration ceremony and Super Bowl, the committee seeks to continue to celebrate poetry and to share the power of language to unite us by including poetry in public events.
Poet laureate hopefuls must submit a short biography (150-250 words), their thoughts about the importance of poetry (300-500 words) and five original poems. They should be emailed to aplprograms@sailsinc.org and include Poet Laureate in the subject line. The deadline for applying for this volunteer position is Monday, November 15, 2021. The appointment will be announced on Monday, January 10, 2022.
Submitted packets will be evaluated for their completeness, and the five poems will be judged on their power, message, technical excellence and impact.
The poet laureate’s chief responsibilities in 2022 include the creation and reading of poems for specific Attleboro events and occasions, and working closely with the Big Read committee as well as city government officials.
