Culture in Queens
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Poets
Laureate in
Queens |
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Queens Poet
Laureate 2007
The current term runs from 2007-2010.
HISTORY OF THE POET LAUREATE IN THE BOROUGH OF QUEENS
(prepared by Marie-Lise Gazarian, PhD, St. John’s University)
The Poet Laureate project, proposed in 1996 by the Friends
of the Queens College Library, was endorsed by then-Queens
Borough President Claire Shulman and subsequently by Queens
Borough President Helen Marshall. The Poet Laureate Administrative
Committee met for the first time in September 1996 in the
Rosenthal Library at Queens College to establish the position
of Poet Laureate for a three-year term and develop eligibility
criteria for this honor. The Committee, which also established
the Poet Laureate Selection Committee (the Panel of Judges),
benefited from the dynamic leadership of David Cohen, its
Secretary and Director of the Friends of the Queens College
Library; and William Green, Convenor and Professor of English,
Queens College.
The Administrative Committee’s role since then has
been to conduct a search every three years for new candidates.
Press releases are sent from the Borough President’s
Office and Queens College to Queens-based poetry and literary
communities and the media. Application forms are now made
available online.
The judges screen the candidates and select those who most
deserve to be Poet Laureate; they also award Honorable Mentions.
On the recommendation of the judges, the Poet Laureate is
appointed by the Borough President. Candidates must be residents
of the Borough and able to inspire an appreciation of poetry
among all people, young and old. As Borough President Marshall
stated at the Installation Ceremony in 2004: “The Poet
Laureate is an honorary position that requires a full-time
commitment to the Borough of Queens.”
The Queens Borough President’s Office, along with
the Administrative Committee, has planned the installation
of each of the three Poets Laureate: Stephen Stepanchev (1997-2001),
Hal Sirowitz (2001-2004), and Ishle Yi Park (2004-2007).
These poets represent three generations of poetry, and their
work is diverse in form and content—only fitting for
Queens, the home of America’s most diverse population.
The first Poet Laureate Administrative Committee (1997)
was composed of the following members: David Cohen, Secretary,
Poet Laureate Administrative Committee and Director, Friends
of the Queens College Library; William Green, Convenor, Poet
Laureate Administrative Committee, Professor of English,
Queens College; Aida González-Jarrin, Director of
Cultural Affairs, Queens Borough President’s Office;
Marie-Lise Gazarian, Coordinator of the Graduate Program
in Spanish and Editor of Entre Rascacielos, a literary journal
of creative writing published under her direction, St. John’s
University; Andrew P. Jackson, Executive Director, Langston
Hughes Community Library & Cultural Center; Lee Cogan,
Editor, Queens Historical Society newsletter; Karen Kennely,
Program Coordinator, Flushing Council on Culture and the
Arts; and Carol Sheffer, Director of Programs and Services
Department, Queens Borough Public Library.
The first Poet Laureate Selection Committee (1997): Marie-Lise
Gazarian; John Watusi Branch, Executive Director, the Center
for Culture, the Afrikan Poetry Theatre; Lila Wheeler Duckett,
President, Fresh Meadows Poets; Kimiko Hahn, poet and Professor
of English, Queens College; Molly Peacock, poet, former President
of the Poetry Society of America; and John Tytell, Professor
of English, Queens College.
The second Poet Laureate Administrative Committee (2001):
William Green; David Cohen; Aida González-Jarrin;
Marie-Lise Gazarian; Lee Cogan; Andrew P. Jackson; and Susan
Agin, House Manager, Flushing Council on Culture and the
Arts.
The second Poet Laureate Selection Committee (2001): Marie-Lise
Gazarian; John Watusi Branch; George Held, poet and Professor
of English, Queens College, and co-editor of the Ledge, a
literary review; Suzanne Noguere, poet and magazine editor;
and Stephen Stepanchev, First Poet Laureate of Queens.
The third Poet Laureate Administrative Committee (2004):
William Green; David Cohen; Marie-Lise Gazarian; Susan Agin;
Andrew P. Jackson; Veronique LeMelle, Culture and Tourism
Director, Queens Borough President’s Office; Alexander
Campos, Executive Director, Jamaica Arts Center; Tyra Emerson,
Executive Director, Culture Collaborative Jamaica; and Sonia
Thompson, Queensborough Public Library.
The third Poet Laureate Selection Committee (2004): Marie-Lise
Gazarian; George Held; and Ali J. Ahmed, poet and professor
of Comparative Literature, Queens College.
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