Poet and know it? A job awaits
Orlando is launching a talent search for the city’s first poet laureate, a position that Mayor Buddy Dyer described as the city’s “official storyteller.”
The city will start taking applications today. A sevenmember selection committee of literary experts, including academics with the University of Central Florida, Valencia College and Rollins College, will recommend three finalists to Dyer, who has final say.
The title is open to published poets who have lived in Orange, Osceola or Seminole county for at least a year, with a record of “significant” awards or recognition, knowledge of Orlando’s history and experience in public speaking, teaching or public performance.
“I would think to be the first poet laureate from Orlando would be an amazing opportunity for somebody in this field,” Dyer said. The winner,
he said, will serve as an ambassador for the city and help inspire the next generation of writers and artists.
The search for a poet laureate will be conducted as a partnership of the city, United Arts of Central Florida and the Orlandobased independent publisher Burrow Press, a city spokeswoman said.
“I think it’s a really important move on the part of the mayor … to elevate a distinguished poet from Central Florida into this position,” said Flora Maria Garcia, United Arts of Central Florida’s president and CEO. “That person is going to have a lot of visibility.”
Orlando wouldn’t be alone in naming an official poet of the city; Tampa has a laureate, as do Houston and Los Angeles, to name a few. Like most states, Florida also has an official poet laureate. He is Peter Meinke, who also has served as poet laureate of St. Petersburg.
Orlando’s poet laureate will be appointed to a oneyear term by Dyer, who can approve two additional one-year renewals before a new laureate is chosen. The role will come with a $3,000 annual honorarium, plus reimbursement for job-related expenses, officials said.
As envisioned by Dyer’s staff, the duties of the poet laureate would include performing at as many as four city events per year. The laureate also would be expected to give up to six presentations at schools per year, through United Arts of Central Florida.
Selection committee member Shawn Welcome, a local poet and host of the “Diverse Word” open-mic night at Dandelion Communitea Cafe, said he views the ability to inspire young artists as a key trait.
“We need to have somebody, even if they are older, to be able to go into a middle school or high school of all kinds and spark something in young people that they didn’t know was there,” he said.
Other committee members said they would also be on the lookout for public speaking skills, professional accomplishments and an ability to connect with Orlando’s diverse population.
“I think what makes the poet laureate more than just a poet … would be that they’re engaged with a particular community,” said Burrow Press publisher Ryan Rivas. “They have a strong connection with the city and can kind of be an ambassador to all of the different communities of the city.”
Dyer and several committee members said they hoped the poet laureate would bring more attention to Orlando’s poetry scene, which they said has grown in recent years but could use a spotlight.
“I feel like the poetry scene is healthy here, [but] it could expand more,” Welcome said. “There’s national poetry slam competitions that Orlando has not hosted yet. There are other things that can be done.”
The selection committee will be chaired by Linda Landman Gonzalez, a board member of the Florida Humanities Council. The deadline for applications is Aug. 7, with Dyer expected to name a poet laureate in October, which is National Arts and Humanities Month.
Another committee member, Valencia College English professor Shari Koopmann, said the creation of a poet laureate will “help the city be recognized as the art mecca that we all believe that it is.”
“I think it establishes a tone,” she said. “It makes it clear to the community that this is valued, that the arts are valued, that writing is valued.”