Culture in Queens
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Helen
Marshall with
Julio Marzan (c.), the 4th
Queens Poet Laureate, and
James Muyskens, President
of Queens College |
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Queens Poet
Laureate 2007-2010
The Queens Borough President's Office is pleased
to announce the Fourth Poet Laureate to serve from 2007 to
2010:
Julio Marzan
Queens Poet Laureate
“Today, I thank Mr. Marzan, all of our previous poet
laureates and the entire panel of judges who were confronted
with the difficult task of making today’s decision. There
were dozens of worthy candidates and all of them deserve our
support and encouragement for their passion and love of poetry,” said
Marshall.
Click
here to read
the Press Release for more detail.
The idea of selecting a Queens Poet Laureate was made in
1996 by the Friends of the Queens College Library, a group
of volunteers who support the library’s programs and
services. Since that time the Borough President has collaborated
closely with those at Queens College, especially college
president James Muyskens.
In his remarks, Muyskens applauded Marzan for having "an
international perspective and a strong, lyrical voice that,
like Walt Whitman’s, ‘hears
America singing.’
Click
here to read poetry by the Poet Laureate.
A panel of judges culled submissions from 45 applicants
and selected Marzan and designated five individuals for Honorable
Mention: Hassanal Abdullah, Christine Hamm, Maria Lisella,
David Mills and Norman Stock. The borough’s three former
poet laureates, along with Linda Bannerman-Martin, curator
of the Black Heritage Reference Center of the Langston Hughes
Community Library & Cultural Center, and Lynn Lobell,
managing director of the Queens Council on the Arts served
as judges.
An Administrative Committee that assisted in the selection
process included Andrew Jackson, executive director of the
Langston Hughes Community Library & Cultural Center;
Professor William Green, Department of English at Queens
College; Professor Marie-Lise Gazarian, Department of Spanish
Literature at St. John’s University; Maria Terrone,
a vice president at Queens College and Susie Tanenbaum, Community & Cultural
Coordinator at the Queens Borough President’s Office.
How It Works
Here is some information on the Poet Laureate program:
A. Eligibility Criteria
To
apply for this three-year honorary position, each candidate:
- Currently resides in Queens. Applicants
who have lived in the borough for at least the past two
years.
- Demonstrates a significant
publication record in English. This includes
published poetry collections, journals, anthologies,
recorded spoken word presentations, poetry readings or
on-line poetry web sites. Bilingual poets demonstrated
work translated into English for their submission.
- Write poetry about
Queens. Applicants have written poems
(published or unpublished) that are inspired by, or that
otherwise relate to, the borough of Queens.
B. Each application included:
- A cover letter, a literary resume, and a brief, general
biography, including years of residence
in Queens.
- A
representative sample of work, not
to exceed a total of 10 single-sided pages. If
the work has been published or performed, details about it
was provided within the submission.
C. Background on the Queens Poet
Laureate position:
- This is an honorary position. Applications
are reviewed by a panel of judges with relevant experience,
and the final candidate is approved by the Queens Borough
President.
- This is a three-year commitment. The
Queens Poet Laureate is expected to promote an appreciation
of poetry throughout the borough.
- The Queens
Poet Laureate is required to collaborate on two annual
events sponsored by the Queens Borough President’s
Office, and is encouraged to participate in a variety of
community events.
- The Queens Poet Laureate must
keep the Queens Borough President’s Office informed
of his/her relevant commitments, by staying in contact
with the Borough President’s
liaison to the Queens Poet Laureate Committee. Susie
Tanenbaum, Community & Cultural Coordinator for the
Queens Borough President, can be reached at (718) 286-2741.
- The Queens
Poet Laureate should promote the borough and the position
at performances in Queens, and elsewhere as appropriate.
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