Friday, April 6, 2012

Travels With Pat


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.


.

No comments:

Post a Comment