Orlando selects
its first poet laureate, giving the honor to Susan Lilley, an adjunct professor at Rollins College and teacher at Trinity Preparatory School.
After a months-long search, Orlando has selected its first poet laureate.
Susan Lilley, 64, an adjunct professor at Rollins College and teacher at Trinity Preparatory School, was one of three finalists for the new position and was chosen by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer after interviews.
The Central Florida native, who grew up in Audubon Park and Winter Park and has lived in Orlando and Maitland, will be officially introduced at Monday’s City Council meeting.
“I’m a little stunned, actually,” Lilley said Thursday. “There are a lot of great writers in the area, so I’m very humbled.”
Lilley, who also taught at the University of Central Florida for 12 years, called herself a “late bloomer” when it came to writing poetry.
“Somewhere in my 30s, I decided I just had to go for it,” she said. “Every writer knows you have to write a lot of bad stuff before you get where you want to go. … Sometimes the artistic urge will not be denied.”
Since then, she’s been awarded the Rita Dove Poetry Award for her work. Lilley specializes in narrative poetry, she said, “which means telling a story. Like all narrative poets, I strive for lyrical moments within the narrative. When I achieve that, I know I’m in the sweet spot. It’s hard to get.”
As laureate, Lilley will perform at city events and give presentations to local students, which she said she most looked forward to doing.
“I have lots of ideas, and I hope I get to make them happen,” she said.
The competition, which began in July, is a partnership of Orlando, United Arts of Central Florida and city-based independent publisher Burrow Press.
The three finalists for what Mayor Buddy Dyer described as “official storyteller” — Lilley; Terry Ann Thaxton, a creative writing professor at the University of Central Florida; and Curtis X Meyer, a Winter Park slam poet — were chosen from among 49 applicants by a panel of experts.
The committee was chaired by Linda Landman Gonzalez, who sits on the Florida Humanities Council and Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts boards. Other members included community representatives and English professors from UCF, Valencia College and Rollins.
Applicants for the role, which was open to poets from Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia, Lake and Brevard counties, were judged on their work samples, experience and backgrounds.
Lilley will serve a one-year term, with two additional one-year renewals possible before a new laureate is chosen.
Orlando joins cities such as Tampa, Los Angeles, Houston, New York City and Washington, D.C., in having an official poet.
“We are excited for the opportunity this new position will have to use the literary arts to tell our community’s stories,” Dyer said.
“There is no doubt that Orlando is a better place to live and work because of our vibrant arts and cultural scene, and the poet laureate will help continue to add to our city’s unique sense of place.”