Easthampton Poet Laureate Program
Activating + Integrating Poetry and Public Spaces
AN INVITATION
Easthampton City Arts (ECA) invites you to nominate the City of Easthampton’s next Poet Laureate. As many of you know from firsthand experience, the City of Easthampton has a long, rich history of utilizing the platform of poetry and literary happenings to activate and engage community. As always, we appreciate the ways in which poetry can call us into ourselves, gather us together, and shed insight and feeling on that which we are experiencing. As we continue to navigate these times of uncertainty and hardship, we recognize the tremendous value that poetry brings–and will continue to bring–as we move forward, recover, and heal.
History & Overview
The Easthampton Poet Laureate Program was founded by Easthampton City Arts (ECA) in 2018 in an effort to highlight and elevate the rich and vital community of poets and culture of poetry in the City of Easthampton and throughout the Connecticut River Valley. In 2019, the Easthampton Poet Laureate program transitioned from a 1-year term to a 2-year term.
In the past, the Easthampton Poet Laureate was selected by a review committee comprised of individuals closely affiliated with literary programming in Easthampton. This year, a review committee (TBA) will select the next Easthampton Poet Laureate based on nominations provided through this open call.
Timeline
February 22
- Announce the Easthampton Poet Laureate nomination process
March 11 @ 11:59pm
- Deadline to nominate the next Easthampton Poet Laureate
Early April 2021
- Easthampton Poet Laureate (2021-2023) announced
Terms & Deliverables
The upcoming Easthampton Poet Laureate program will run from April 2021 – April 2023. This ensures that the current and incoming Easthampton Poet Laureate will overlap in April, which is officially Poetry Month in the City of Easthampton.
People are welcome to nominate oneself and/or someone else. People can also nominate as many people as they’d like.
While it is not a requirement that the Easthampton Poet Laureate lives or works in the City of Easthampton, their poetry must have a presence and/or history in Easthampton.
Poet Laureate Deliverables:
- Year ONE – Presentation of one’s own work
- Year ONE – Second public sharing (can be an event, workshop, presentation, etc)
- Year TWO – Presentation of one’s own work
- Year TWO – Second public sharing (can be an event, workshop, presentation, etc)
- Requested but not required: Serve on the 2023-2025 Review Committee and introduce the Incoming Poet Laureate
- *Note: the Easthampton Poet Laureate is welcomed and encouraged to participate in additional ECA events and programs throughout the duration of their term and would be compensated appropriately, in addition to their Poet Laureate agreement, deliverables, and honorarium.
The Easthampton Poet Laureate will be supported by the City Arts Coordinator, the ECA Literary Committee, and ECA as a whole to bring their Easthampton Poet Laureate programming to life.
A $1,000 honorarium is provided. It will be issued in two $500 payments, upon the completion of the second public sharing each year.
Artist Agreements
The selected individual must comply with program guidelines. As with all ECA & City programs, the individual can submit invoices once they have fulfilled the requirements of their agreement. Please note that a W9 is required for payment to be issued and checks can be expected to arrive approximately four weeks after paperwork has been processed.
Contact
Please direct all inquiries regarding the Easthampton Poet Laureate program to Pasqualina Azzarello, City Arts Coordinator: pazzarello@easthamptonma.gov. *Please note that inquiries must be received by the end of day March 9 to ensure a timely response ahead of the application deadline.
