Mayor Buckley announces the creation of a Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis
Applications due April 20, 2018
Annapolis, MD (3-1-18) – Mayor Gavin Buckley today announces the creation of the position of Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis. The Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis is an honorary role whose responsibility is to promote the literary arts and literacy within the Annapolis community.
Co-chairs of the Art in Public Places Committee (AIPPC) Poet Laureate selection panel, Gwen Manseau and Barbara Torreon, urge poets who live, work, or attend school in Annapolis and are at least 18 years old to apply for consideration for the role by April 20. Applications require the submittal of five poems and two short essays, which will be reviewed by a selection panel that includes notable literary figures from the City.
“The Poet Laureate will be the poetic voice of our city – reaching children and adults in our community to build common ground through a love of language,” said Mayor Buckley.
Former Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, chair of the AIPPC, said, “By creating this position, the AIPPC hopes to support a greater appreciation of local people, places, history, and communal
belonging in our city through the reading and writing of poetry.”
The Poet Laureate will serve a two-year term and is encouraged to nurture appreciation of poetry and literature by conducting public readings, workshops, lectures and presentations in neighborhoods, schools, institutions of higher learning, and other public settings in geographically diverse areas of the city. The Poet Laureate will receive an annual honorarium of $500 from the AIPPC.
Further information, including guidelines and an application form for the position, is available at www.annapolis.gov/poetlaureate. Submissions from poets from all walks of life and writing in all poetry forms are welcome.
In order to be considered for the position, applicants must either live, work, or attend an academic institution within the City of Annapolis; be at least 18 years old; and be distinguished in the field of poetry as demonstrated through a body of work, published or unpublished. The
application deadline is Friday, April 20, 2018. Applications must be sent via email to annapolispoetlaureate@gmail.com or via postal mail to the AIPPC, Pip Moyer Recreation Center, 273 Hilltop Lane, Annapolis, MD 21403.
Mayor Buckley will appoint the Poet Laureate following the recommendation of the AIPPC Poet Laureate selection panel, and will begin the two-year term of service on July 1, 2018.