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From the poet laureate

The Commuter

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Dear Students and Staff:

We once again are at a point of new beginnings: a new term, a new year, a new chance to be involved in poetry and to write new poems. I am excited to be continuing as campus poet laureate for this next term, and I’m expecting new events to take place and new poems to be written and shared with passion. I am also expecting the continuation of the Poem of the Week and Poetry Club to be full of living, thriving words! That’s what poetry is all about. The sharing and continuing of what we sometimes want to communicate through a deep expression from our souls. Nikos Kazantzakis, a Greek writer, says “my entire soul is a cry, and all my work is a commentary on that cry.” I hope that my work as this year’s poet laureate is, if nothing else, a commentary on the cry of our souls.

I wish to express poetry through the souls of many past and present poets in my Poem of the Week. Once again, I will be handing out a poem on just about every table in just about every building on campus. Please take one, share with others, and notice that at the bottom of the poem will be the times for the Poetry Club, which is tentatively going to be Tuesdays from 2:30-3:30 in the Library Reading Room. The Poetry Club is an incredible time of reading our own poems or our favorite poems written by someone else. We then talk about the poems and reflect on them. You don’t have to write poetry to come. You’re welcome to just listen and soak it all in.

This term, we will be starting a Poetry Project. The idea originates from Robert Pinsky, the U.S. poet laureate from 1997-2000. The Poetry Project is a bundle of poems that you will have the chance to submit for display on the LBCC Commuter web site as well as possibly in the Commuter paper. You can submit your favorite poem with a brief explanation of why it is your favorite. Anyone is welcome to be a part of this exciting way to share and comment on poetry and the way it has affected our lives. I’ll be giving an example of a poetry project in The Commuter very soon, so that you have an idea of what the project can look like. If you would like to submit your poetry project, you can email me: amyearls14@gmail.com.

Be watching for more poetry happenings that will be taking place on campus this term, such as the Library of Congress poetry competition that the U.S. Poet Laureate Kay Ryan invites us to join and the combination of poetry and calligraphy that will be displayed in the NSH gallery.

I would like to extend an invitation for you to join me this term in experiencing refreshment and joy that is always found in poetry. And may you discover that the secret to poems lies in you!

Your Poet Laureate,
Amy Earls

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