1/11: Ohio Poetry Association Workshop featuring Yalie Saweda Kamara

In my new role as 2nd vice president of the Ohio Poetry Association, I would like to invite you to join us virtually on Saturday 11 January at 1 p.m. for a fantastic workshop with Yalie Saweda Kamara.

OPA Workshop featuring Yalie Saweda Kamara

For our first poetry workshop of 2025, we are thrilled to welcome the current Poet Laureate of the City of Cincinnati, Yalie Saweda Kamara. Kamara is a Sierra Leonean-American writer, educator, and researcher originally from Oakland, California, and the 2022–2024 Cincinnati and Mercantile Library Poet Laureate. Invited for a third year of poet laureate service, her tenure will conclude in 2025. She is an assistant professor of English at Xavier University, where she specializes in creative writing and global and diasporic literature. Winner of the 2022–2023 Jake Adam York Prize, Kamara’s debut full-length poetry collection is Besaydoo (Milkweed Editions, 2024).

About the Workshop: “i am running into a new year”

In this workshop, whose title is based on the famed Lucille Clifton poem, poets will reflect on the gifts, struggles, and revelation of 2024 and engage in creative activity that considers world making in 2025. Through a multimedia exploration of surrender, embrace, confession, and celebration, we will endeavor to investigate the following query: How do the vestiges and blossoms from the previous year inform our understanding of and proximity
to "possibility" in the newest year?

This hybrid workshop will take place following the 10 a.m. OPA quarterly business meeting at the Mercantile Library in Cincinnati and also via Zoom. 

To attend, please register at www.ohiopoetryassn.org/events. 

To learn more about Yalie Saweda Kamara, visit her website at www.yaylala.com.

Thrive on, Doc Janning!

A nice feature on our friend (and Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate) Doc Janning appears in the Winter 2024/25 issue of Thrive: South Euclid Magazine.

 

Find Doc online at facebook.com/drmikej1008. His book Before Today ∞ Beyond Tomorrow [2023, Venetian Spider Press] is available from Mac's Backs and other great booksellers.

Heights Arts Seeks Applications for 12th Heights Poet Laureate

From our friends at Heights Arts in Cleveland Heights:

Heights Arts, a multidisciplinary arts organization in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, is excited to announce the selection process for the cities’ 12th Poet Laureate for a two-year term beginning April 2025 through March 2027. This upcoming term coincides with Heights Arts’ 25th anniversary. 

The Heights Poet Laureate will receive a yearly stipend and participate in civic and community events, as well as manage Heights Arts’ popular Ekphrastacy – Artists Talk and Poets Respond series throughout their tenure. 

History: The Cleveland Heights Poet Laureateship, established in 2000 by Heights Arts to celebrate and elevate poetry as an essential art form for the community, is the first and longest-running laureateship in the state of Ohio. In 2023, with the endorsement of both Cleveland Heights and University Heights, the laureateship expanded to become the Heights Poet Laureateship. Every two years, Heights Arts’ staff along with the Heights Writes Community Team of volunteers with expertise in the literary arts and the Heights community solicit applications to select a poet from the Cleveland area for this honor. 

“We were thrilled to join Cleveland Heights in the Heights Poet Laureate program,” says University Heights Mayor Michael Dylan Brennan, “... and I look forward to our participating in the program going forward. University Heights is committed to supporting the arts. Adding poetry to our city events has been inspirational and has helped bring residents together.” 

The current Poet Laureate, Siaara Freeman, is a dynamic voice in the Cleveland poetry scene, a 2023 Room in the House fellow with Karamu Theater. Freeman is also a 2022 Catapult fellow with Cleveland Public Theater. Her accolades include the 2021 Premier Playwright fellowship with Cleveland Public Theater, the 2020 WateringHole Manuscript fellowship, and being a four-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize. Freeman’s work has appeared in The Journal, Josephine Quarterly, Cleveland Magazine, and other notable publications. She has gained recognition for her viral poems and has toured both nationally and internationally. 

The meeting will be posted on the Heights Arts website for those who cannot attend. Applicants for the laureateship must commit to serving the full 24-month term if selected and must either be residents of Cleveland Heights or have a significant connection to the communities. Applications will be accepted from November 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024. Detailed information and the application can be found at Heights Arts Poet Laureate.

December 3rd: Think Forum - An Evening with Billy Collins in Cleveland

Tuesday 3 December 2024 at 7:30 p.m., see former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins at the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center, 1855 Ansel Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106.

Billy Collins is an American phenomenon. No poet since Robert Frost has combined high critical acclaim with such broad popular appeal. His work has appeared in a variety of periodicals including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The American Scholar. Collins has published twelve collections of poetry that have led to numerous awards including the Mark Twain Award for Humor in Poetry. Collins was named New York State Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006 after serving as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001-2003. Collins’ newest book, Water, Water: Poems, will be released in November 2024.

Book signing immediately following the lecture.

Get your FREE tickets at https://case.edu/maltzcenter/calendar-events/concerts-events-silver-hall/think-forum-evening-billy-collins.

Vermilion City Council Appoints Joette McDonald as City’s First Poet Laureate

Congratulations to Joette McDonald! 

From the press release:

At the July 8th Vermilion City Council meeting Mayor Jim Forthofer put forth the name of Joette McDonald to be named Vermilion and the surrounding area’s first Poet Laureate. In his recommendation to council members he highlighted why Mrs. McDonald was such a deserving person for this honor. Vermilion City Council approved this appointment unanimously.

You might be asking yourself “What is a Poet Laureate and what do they do?”. This is not an uncommon question. A poet laureate is “ a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution as an honorary representative of a particular region”. The state of Ohio’s Poet Laureate is Kari Gunther Seymour, appointed by Governor DeWine in January 2024. There are numerous cities or counties who have appointed a Poet Laureate.

So now you ask, “What does a Poet Laureate do?”. The person appointed is a poet who has written poems, books or other literary pieces that have been published. The Poet Laureate might be asked to read a poem at a ceremonial event that the city holds such as a building dedication or be an advocate for not only poetry, but for any form of the literature. They might help kick of the library summer reading program or a school’s Right to Read campaign.

So who is Joette McDonald? Mrs. McDonald has been a teacher of 1st and 4th grade since she was 19 years of age until she retired from Vermilion Local Schools in 1996. She taught at South Street School and Vermilion Intermediate School and has taught many Vermilion residents during her tenure as a teacher. Joette has an undergraduate degree from Kent State

University where she graduated Cum Laude and later earned a Master’s degree from Ashland University.

Joette’s poetry has won numerous awards, has been read on the radio and been published in several periodicals and anthologies. Her poetry books include Seasons of the Soul (2013), It Seems Like Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe (2007) and Waiting for the Bus at Protemus (2005). Mrs. McDonald has also published a book on how to write poetry titled I Feel Like a Poem Coming On-Now What (2007). Composer Dr. H. Leslie Adams has used her poems as art songs, many of which have been performed in concerts and recorded. Joette has also penned two books for young adolescents about Vermilion -The Lighthouse Mystery and The Haunted Hall, a story of Vermilion’s Old Town Hall (now Harbourtown Fine Arts Center).

The Vermilion Poetry Society, who encouraged the Mayor and City Council to establish a Poet Laureate for Vermilion and the Surrounding Areas, will honor Joette McDonald as our first Poet Laureate with a reception on Thursday, August 8th from 7:00-9:00 pm at Harbourtown Fine Arts Center, 736 Main Street. Those interested in attending should email Dr. Jim Chapple at chappjw@aol.com or call him at 440.225.1547 to attend this reception.

Also read in Lorain's Morning Journal.

July 12: Poet Laureate Ada Limón comes to Cuyahoga Valley National Park

On July 12 at 6 pm, Cuyahoga Valley National Park will host the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón for a special event. Please join us for the unveiling of the "You Are Here" poetry project at the Ledges Shelter.

Seven national parks, including Cuyahoga Valley, were selected by Limón to be part of her signature project “You are Here: Poetry in Parks.” In each park, a picnic table transformed into a work of public art will be unveiled. At the Ledges Shelter, Limón will unveil a picnic table inscribed with Jean Valentine’s poem, “The Valley”.

• The event starts at 6 pm; doors open at 5 pm.
• Please bring a lawn chair or blanket if you’re able.
• Additional parking is available at Kendall Lake (1000 Truxell Road in Peninsula) with a shuttle provided to the event.
• Limón's anthology will be available for purchase at the event.

Poetry in Parks is a partnership between the National Park Service, Library of Congress, U.S. National Poet Laureate, and Poetry Society of America. The initiative is one half of Ada Limón’s signature project titled, “You Are Here.” The project also includes an anthology of original poems by 50 contemporary American poets. Learn more about Poetry in Parks.

Make reservation of register at www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-in-cuyahoga-valley-national-park-with-ada-limon-tickets-923717222077. 

A Gathering of Laurels II - April 6th in South Euclid

A Gathering of Laurels II

Ohio Poets Laureate read from their work for National Poetry Month on Saturday, April 06, 2024 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm EDT at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library.

Join us as Poets Laureate from around Ohio share their work. Doc Janning, the Inaugural Poet Laureate of the City of South Euclid, will emcee the event. Books will be available for sale and signing, and we'll celebrate with light refreshments.

Featured poets:

John Burroughs, Beat Poet Laureate Emeritus of Ohio and the U.S.

Sandra Feen, Beat Poet Laureate of Ohio

Doc Janning, Inaugural Poet Laureate of South Euclid and Third Poet Laureate of Cuyahoga County

Jeremy Jusek, Poet Laureate of Parma

Jonie McIntire, Poet Laureate of Lucas County

Ray McNiece, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Cleveland Heights

Dr. Mary Weems, Poet Laureate Emeritus of Cleveland Heights

https://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/9574197 

1876 S. Green Road
Writers Center Conference Room
South Euclid, Ohio 44121

A Gathering of Laurels: Six Poets Laureate, April 8th in South Euclid

This Sunday, 8 April at 2 pm, join us at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library for A Gathering of Laurels. Poets Laureate from around the area will read from their work, emceed by Doc Janning, the Poet Laureate of South Euclid. Books will be available for sale and signing, and we'll celebrate with light refreshments. This is a free event and there are seats still available.

Poets reading will include:

Doc Janning, Poet Laureate of South Euclid
Honey Bell-Bey, Poet Laureate of Cuyahoga County
Siaara Freeman, Poet Laureate of Cleveland Heights & University Heights
Mary Weems, Poet Laureate Emerita of Cleveland Heights
Jeremy Jusek, Poet Laureate of Parma
John Burroughs, U.S. Beat Poet Laureate

Please register here: https://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/7644203.

Siaara Freeman becomes new Heights Poet Laureate!

Congratulations, Siaara Freeman! The following is from our friends at Heights Arts:

Heights Arts Appoints Eleventh Poet Laureate

HEIGHTS ARTS APPOINTS 11^TH HEIGHTS POET LAUREATE

Heights Arts proudly presents the Heights’ eleventh Poet Laureate —Siaara Freeman. She begins her two-year term in April, joining a long line of celebrated laureates, the most recent of whom was 2022 Academy of American Poets Fellow Ray McNiece. The new laureate’s official duties will begin in April (National Poetry Month), at Heights Arts’ popular Ekphrastacy—Artists Talk and Poets Respond series.

About Siaara Freeman

Currently a teaching artist for the Center for Arts Inspired Learning, Freeman has a wide-ranging, much-heralded foundation in writing and performing arts. She has spent recent years with Cleveland Public Theatre (Catapult Fellow 2021-22); as Watering Hole Manuscript Fellow (2020); Tangerine Chapbook Fellow (2018); Poetry Foundation Incubator Fellow (2018); and she is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Her first collection of poetry, Urbanshee, was released in August 2022. Her poems have appeared in many publications including BOAAT, Tinderbox, Josephine Quarterly, and The Offing, which describes Freeman as “an avid reader, a reliable nerd, a poet, a performer, and the friendly neighborhood hope dealer.”

Freeman has performed at poetry festivals, colleges, and universities both locally and internationally. Norway, Canada, and Costa Rica have hosted her, as have educational institutions including Oberlin, Ohio State, Allegheny College, Michigan State, Louisiana State, and Penn State. In conjunction with the Picturing Motherhood exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2022, she made a five-minute “commercial” spoken-word video that aired on the museum’s website to promote the show.

Of her hero, Toni Morrison, in a piece for Cleveland magazine in 2019 Freeman writes, “She (Morrison) was transcendent, yet undeniably human. She had no need to rely on stereotypes or tropes. She knew blackness, women, Ohio, magic, herself, and she used that knowledge and her boundless imagination to give us worlds where her characters existed, but we could as well.” It was clear to the members of the Heights Writes Community Team whose members select the new laureate every two years, that Freeman herself would transcend the ordinary through her poetry writing, performances, and work with young people. Team member Annie Holden speaks for the Team. “On paper, Freeman is deeply impressive. In person, she has a level of energy and dynamism that electrifies the space she inhabits.”

Cleveland Heights – Home to the Arts

Freeman joins a long line of celebrated past poet laureates. Says Freeman about her appointment, “I am incredibly honored to be chosen to continue in a legacy carved by such brilliant and generous poets. It is a privilege to sit amongst personal heroes and close friends who embraced the opportunity to serve the community.”

Cleveland Heights Mayor Seren honors the laureateship and what it represents in a city with arguably the biggest population of artists and arts professionals in the region. “Poetry grounds us in our shared humanity in times of celebration and sorrow, and as “home to the arts” Cleveland Heights recognizes poetry’s significance through this laureateship. I look forward to working with Ms. Freeman to give her art a broader platform in our community.”

A New Partnership with University Heights

With the naming of the new laureate comes a new partnership between Heights Arts and University Heights, an evolution that will change the title from “Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate” to simply “Heights Poet Laureate”. Heights Arts’ executive director Rachel Bernstein shares her thoughts about Freeman’s upcoming tenure. “The Heights Poet Laureate program is the longest-running laureateship in the state and has been conferred through Heights Arts since our inception in 2000. Not only are we thrilled to welcome Siaara Freeman as the next laureate who will lead us into our twenty-fifth anniversary in 2025, we are equally excited about our new partnership with University Heights to expand this position to the greater Heights area—something I have been hoping to do since I became director. Cleveland Heights and University Heights share a school system and a library system, and we are grateful for Mayor Brennan’s enthusiasm in supporting another cultural asset in the Poet Laureate, which will expand civic engagement through the arts. I look forward to Freeman sharing her inspiring words and presence with a new community.”

University Heights Mayor Brennan shares Bernstein’s enthusiasm. “As we continue to grapple with the many challenges in today’s post-pandemic world, poetry can help us reconnect and heal. University Heights is excited to support the Heights Poet Laureate, and we look forward to working with her at our community events.”

Inaugural and Upcoming Events

The new laureate will be welcomed officially by Cleveland Heights on April 17, 2023 at Cleveland Heights City Hall, and at University Heights City Hall on May 1, 2023.

Her first public events will occur at Heights Arts’ Ekphrastacy – Artists Talk and Poets Respond event on April 20^th at 7pm, and at a Heights Arts “Community Celebration of Laureates Past and Present” on May 4th at 7pm at the Grog Shop.

Upcoming events

More about Heights Arts Literary Programming

Applications for Ekphrastacy and the next Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate

From our friends at Heights Arts:


Cleveland Heights Poet Laureateship 

Heights Arts is selecting the 11th Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate – to serve between April 2023 and March 2025. The poet laureateship is the longest-running laureateship in the state of Ohio, and will raise your profile in the community; give you experience writing occasional poems; and increase your awareness of Cleveland Heights communities, organizations and individuals you may not have met before. You will have a deep connection with Heights Arts and will collaborate with artists across genres.  

Serving as Poet Laureate may increase your future funding possibilities. Our outgoing poet laureate, Ray McNiece, was awarded a substantial grant from the Academy of American Poets as a direct result of his role as CH poet laureate. Says McNiece of his laureateship, “Serving as The Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate has provided me with the opportunity not only to refocus on my poetry, but more so on my role as a community poet. Writing is often a solitary art, but the laureateship by its very nature engages my art, particularly through the Ekphrastacy series, which provides me and other poets in the community with an opportunity to work with a wider audience.” 

Learn more and apply to be the next Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate 

 

Ekphrastacy: Artists Talk and Poets Respond

The Ekphrastacy literary program is a series of artist talks + poetry readings held regularly in the Heights Arts gallery, in conjunction with our four, yearly exhibitions. Cleveland-area writers are invited to view the installed artworks and respond with poetry. Five weeks after the exhibition opening, the artists talk about their work and the poets read their poems, often resulting in a surprising dialogue. Participating poets receive an honorarium for their participation.  

Learn more and apply to perform in the 2023 Ekphrastacy: Artists Talk and Poets Respond series

Ray McNiece Awarded Fellowship by Academy of American Poets

Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Ray McNiece
[photo by Herb Ascherman]

The Academy of American Poets announced that it is awarding a combined total of $1.1 million to its 2022 Poet Laureate Fellows. These 22 individuals, each of whom will receive $50,000, have been named poets laureate of states, cities, and counties, and have made positive contributions to their communities in these roles and beyond. Funds will support their respective public poetry programs in the year ahead as presented in their proposals to the Academy. In addition, the Academy will provide a total of $72,200 to eight local 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations that have agreed to support the Fellows’ proposed projects.

 

Ray McNiece, Poet Laureate Fellow, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 

Ray McNiece is the author of several collections, including Breath Burns Away (Red Giant Press, 2019). The recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, he works for both the Ohio Arts Council Arts in Education Residency Artist program and the Center for Arts Inspired Learning of Northeast Ohio. In collaboration with Heights Arts, McNiece will organize the “Poem for Cleveland Project” and create a mosaic of Cleveland voices through intergenerational and multicultural poetry workshops. These will be monthly community-based workshops established with the help of partner organizations that pair youth poets with elders to tell the story of Cleveland. The workshops will feature prompts of place created by youth poets and serve as a template to be shared virtually by the Center for the Book to help other Ohio communities create similar programs. The project will serve as a bridge between cultures, generations, and neighborhoods. It will conclude with an intergenerational reading and celebration at Cleveland Public Library’s main branch, sponsored by the Center for the Book and Heights Arts. An anthology of the work, Poem for Cleveland, will be published by Red Giant Press.

The 2022 Poet Laureate Fellows and the communities they serve are Emanuelee Outspoken Bean (Houston, TX), Cyrus Cassells (Texas), Andru Defeye (Sacramento, CA), Ashanti Files (Urbana, IL), B. K. Fischer (Westchester County, NY), Ashley M. Jones (Alabama), Holly Karapetkova (Arlington, VA), J. Drew Lanham (Edgefield, SC), Julia B. Levine (Davis, CA), Matt Mason (Nebraska), Airea D. Matthews (Philadelphia, PA), Ray McNiece (Cleveland Heights, OH), Huascar Medina (Kansas), KaNikki Jakarta (Alexandria, VA), Gailmarie Pahmeier (Nevada), Catherine Pierce (Mississippi), Rena Priest (Washington), Lynne Thompson (Los Angeles, CA), Emma Trelles (Santa Barbara, CA), Gwen Nell Westerman (Minnesota), Crystal Wilkinson (Kentucky), and Kealoha Wong (Hawaiʻi).

 

 

I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices

On June 11th, the Cuyahoga County Public Library will host a reading by contributors to the new I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing: Ohio's Appalachian Voices anthology (edited by Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour and published by Sheila-Na-Gig). This reading will take place online and we'd love for you to tune in. 

Registered participants will also have the option of attending in-person at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch to watch the event on a large screen.

Please register here to attend.

Jeremy Jusek named first Poet Laureate of Parma, Ohio

Congratulations to Jeremy (and Parma)! 

Read all about it at Cleveland.com.

And you can find him at jeremyjusek.com.

Anthology of Ohio's Appalachian Voices Seeks Submissions

Ohio Poet Laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour invites all poets with ties to Ohio and Appalachia (and so on - watch the video for details) to submit to the new anthology I Thought I Heard a Cardinal Sing. Deadline: October 30, 2021.

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/kari.gunter.seymour/videos/164094779131517.

More info: https://www.karigunterseymourpoet.com/submit.

What's Up with Ray McNiece?

Jordan Davis, for CoolCleveland, catches up with Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Ray McNiece "as he reflects on his travels, current projects and passing the torch to future poets of all ages...."

https://coolcleveland.com/2021/02/video-catching-up-with-poet-ray-mcniece/ 

And check out Ray's online poetry workshops. More details at RayMcNiece.com.

Virtual Valentine's Day reading

 Laurie Kincer writes:

Dear poets,

 

Here’s a special gift for you on Valentine’s Day: Honey Bell-Bey, Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate, is the featured reader at tomorrow’s Second Sunday Poets. A spoken word poet, Ms. Bell-Bey has been in the news frequently over the years as the founder and director of The Distinguished Gentlemen, a poetry recitation and performance group for young men ages 12-21.

 

Register here to receive a Zoom link at 2 p.m. for the 3 p.m. event: Second Sunday Poets - Cuyahoga County Public Library (cuyahogalibrary.org)

 

Bring one or two of your own poems to read during the open mic, with the suggested theme of love (keeping it PG-rated). You’re also welcome just to tune in to listen.

 

Stay well and warm,

 

 

Laurie Kincer

Writing Specialist

 

Cuyahoga County Public Library

South Euclid-Lyndhurst Branch

William N. Skirball Writers' Center

1876 South Green Road / South Euclid, OH 44121     

p 216.382.4880 / f 216.382.4584

 

Cuyahoga County Public Library

Administrative Offices                                               

2111 Snow Road / Parma, OH 44134     

p 216.749.9309 / f 216.485.9851

  

www.cuyahogalibrary.org

Photo credit: Adrian Hood

"Cleveland Poets See Amanda Gorman's Words As 'Tools' To Teach"

Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate Honey Bell-Bey
celebrating Vice President Kamala Harris with students
at Wade Elementary School on Inauguration Day. [Honey Bell-Bey]

Read the full article by Jenny Hamel at ideastream®.

Kari Gunter-Seymour is named Ohio Poet of the Year 2020

The Ohio Poetry Day Association has selected Kari Gunter-Seymour as its Ohio Poet of the Year for 2020. Gunter-Seymour was selected for her latest book of poems, A Place So Deep Inside America It Can’t Be Seen (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2020).

Residing near Athens, Ohio, Gunter-Seymour is a ninth generation Appalachian and seeks to honor that heritage in her poetry. She often writes in the voices of those she encounters and uses a regional accent when she performs.

“As an Appalachian poet, I take great pride in my heritage,” Gunter-Seymour says. “For generations my ancestors have loved and worked the land, read their Bibles and migrated as the weather or wanderlust prescribed, handing down their knowledge and experiences through story and song.”

Chosen from among eight books nominated for Ohio Poet of the Year, A Place So Deep Inside America It Can’t Be Seen is Gunter-Seymour’s second poetry collection.  [The first is Serving.]

“This [Ohio Poet of the Year] award feels like a victory for all who came before me,” she said, “as well as all yet to come and for the untold number of Appalachian poets, writers and singer/songwriters who have touched my life and my writing in so many ways.”

Kathy Fagan, one of four judges and the 2017 Ohio Poet of the Year for her book Sycamore, calls Gunter-Seymour “a poet for whom family and region provide a well-source of words.”

Gunter-Seymour’s winning the award comes on the heels of her recently being selected as Ohio’s third State Poet Laureate by Governor Mike DeWine. She also previously was Poet Laureate of Athens, Ohio.

Gunter-Seymour is also the founder and Executive Director of the Women of Appalachia Project. This organization offers opportunities for women artists of Appalachian descent and diverse backgrounds, ages and experiences to participate in artistic programs as a way, according to its website, “to embrace the stereotype, to show the whole woman.” The Women of Appalachia Project sponsors spoken word events, poetry readings, fine art exhibitions and other artistic programs and publications.

The Ohio Poetry Day Association was founded in 1937 by authorization of the Ohio Legislature. Since 1976, it has selected annually an Ohio Poet of the Year, basing its choice on a book published in the previous one to two years. The award is based on the one book and not on an aggregation of work published over time. Four judges are selected to review the nominees, one of which is always a previous poet of the year winner.

“I was honored to read books by all the outstanding nominees for Ohio Poet of the Year,” said Fagan. “Gunter-Seymour joins an impressive list of previous winners, re-inscribing for each of us just how rich and deep Ohio’s poetic heritage has been.”

Another judge, Robin Mullet (co-author with Holli Rainwater of The Curve of Her Arm) said that being a judge was one of the most challenging tasks she has ever had because each of the nominees was deserving of the award.

“Although I have long known that Ohio was a treasure chest of poetry, I was still blown away by the depth, diversity and richness of the language of these skilled poets,” she said.

For more about the 2020 Ohio Poet of the Year, please visit karigunterseymourpoet.com.

Ray McNiece, new poet laureate of Cleveland Heights

from Rachel Bernstein of Heights Arts writes:

"I’m thrilled to announce that our Heights Writes Community Team has chosen Ray McNiece as the next Poet Laureate of Cleveland Heights!” The two-year appointment begins this month. The Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate was, for many years, the only poet laureateship in the state of Ohio, and is one of Heights Arts core programs. McNiece will be the 10th poet serving the community in this capacity."

See their announcement here.

Ray McNiece, new poet laureate of Cleveland Heights

Ray writes:

"Many thanks to Rachel Bernstein Kathleen Cerveny, Christine Howey and the Heights Writes Committee. I take over from a long line of great poets of community including this past two years' poet Damien McClendon!

"My big proposal is intergenerational poetry circles with elders and youth which will obviously be on hold until we can find a way to do workshops safely. Likewise the community poetry workshop which will probably be done through Zoom, (I'm currently leading one for the Lit). I'll also be soliciting local poets for the very successful Ekphrastacy Series, poets responding to Art for Height's Arts Gallery Shows. I'll be leading Seasonal Ginko (Haiku Hikes) at Cain Park and initiate a revival of the Best Cleveland Poem contest, named for Daniel Thompson, Cleveland's legendary Community Poet and long time Cleveland Heights resident, with Student, Adult and Senior Categories. Eventually we hope to have quarterly Lit Jams, performances of poems, stories, songs, monologues and stand up comedy backed by the Tongue in Groove Band at a Cleveland Heights Music venue, imagine Literary "Happenings"! I am also going to start a blog dubbed, An Analog Man in a Digital World, where I'll post news updates on all of the above, poems, prompts and contest information. Thanks again, Yesterday I posted a tribute to my mother and it really was her encouragement to follow my dreams to be a poet (my immigrant Grandparents were drilling "Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer" in my head all through my childhood) that has brought me here. That, and the love of poetry instilled by my father's mother Zelma McNiece Cline, who always told me if you learn a poem by heart it lives with you your whole life!"

---

• see also the announcement at Cool Cleveland

Next Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate? Ekphrastacy?

Heights Arts is now accepting applications for the 2020 - 2022 Poet Laureateship!

Endorsed by the City of Cleveland Heights, the Poet Laureate works with local poets and Heights Arts to showcase and celebrate the wonderful diversity of talent in the local community. Visit their website for application requirements and instructions: https://www.heightsarts.org/portfolio-item/2020-2022-cleveland-heights-poet-laureate.

They are also accepting applications for poets to present at their Ekphrastacy poetry series. The deadline for application submission is December 31, 2019. Application link here: https://www.heightsarts.org/heights-writes/call-for-poets-ekphrastacy-series.