I want to share my journey as Wyoming Poet Laureate.
On March 4th and 5th the Wyoming
Poetry Out Loud Competition was held in Cheyenne.
Judges for this year’s competition were Jim Coppoc,
performance poet and musician from Ames, Iowa; poet and educator Diane Panozzo, and me. What a delight
to listen to eleven students from across the state of Wyoming recite their chosen poems.
Sara Ellingrod of Arvada-Clearmont High
School in Sheridan
County was named winner of the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud finals
held in Cheyenne on Monday. As champion, Sara receives an expenses-paid
trip with a chaperone to Washington, D.C. where she will represent Wyoming at the Poetry Out Loud finals, May 14-15.
March 7th, I had the honor and
privilege to share two poems before the Wyoming Legislature followed by a brief
visit with Governor Mead. Rita Basom of the Wyoming Arts Council and Wendy
Madsen of the Legislative Service Office guided me through the Capital and
introduced me to a number of warm and wonderful people who keeps our Wyoming
Capital running smoothly. Milward Simpson, Director of the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources was also kind enough to join us for the
readings. My gratitude to all.
On April 4th, in
celebration of National Poetry Month, I was delighted to present a reading at Fulmer
Library in Sheridan. My thanks to
Debbie Iverson, Program Director of the library for a well-planned event and
Aaron Holst, a fellow poet who suggested my visit.
Old friends and new faces warmly received readings from Delights and Shadows by former National
Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser and Margot Liberty, one of the wonderful poets
included in Graining the Mare edited
by Tereasa Jordan,
and selections from my newest book, Married
Into It. I then enjoyed a wonderful
stay with Aaron and his lovely wife Donna at their home which faces the
magnificent Big Horn
Mountains. My appreciation to all
who made it a memorable visit to Sheridan.
.
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