Annapolis, MD – Mayor Gavin Buckley announced the search for the next Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis. The Poet Laureate for the City is an honorary role with responsibility to promote the literary arts and literacy within the Annapolis community.
The Art in Public Places Commission (AIPPC) is in charge of selecting the Poet Laureate. The Commission urges poets who live, work, or attend school in Annapolis, and are at least 18 years old, to apply for consideration for the role by February 26. Applications require the submittal of five poems and two short essays. Nominations for the position will also be accepted.
“The Poet Laureate will help us to build our vision of One Annapolis – reaching out to children and adults in our community to build common ground and be the poetic voice of our City,” said Mayor Buckley.
Genevieve Torri, chair of the AIPPC, said, “we are eager to continue the tradition we started in 2018, by appointing a Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis for the 2021-2023 term. Especially in this difficult time, our City Poet will serve to inspire and support a sense of humanity and belonging through the reading and writing of poetry.”
The Poet Laureate will serve a one-year term, renewable for a second year, 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.
The first Poet Laureate for the City of Annapolis was U.S. Naval Academy English Professor Temple Cone, who was appointed for the 2018-2020 term.
Further information, including guidelines and an application/nomination form for the position, is available at annapolis.gov/678/Art-in-Public-Places-Commission. Submissions from poets from all walks of life and writing in all poetry forms are welcome.
Poet Laureate Qualifications: In order to be considered for the position, applicants and nominees 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at least 18 years old; and be distinguished in the field of poetry as demonstrated through a body of work, published or unpublished.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, February 26, 2021. 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, and the Poet Laureate will begin the term of service on April 1, 2021.
