Philadelphia creates Poet Laureate program, begins search

Mayor Michael Nutter announced yesterday the launch of Philadelphia’s Poet Laureate program, and the search for the right person is on.

Chief Cultural Officer Gary Steuer of the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy will chair the planning committee.

“Poetry is an extraordinary and powerful art form, and our great city is filled with an astonishing array of poets who help us to understand better our community,” Nutter said in his announcement. “I look forward to receiving the recommendations of the planning committee and establishing, for the first time, a Poet Laureate for the City of Philadelphia.”

Also on the planning committee are:

Lorene Cary, author and Executive Director of Art Sanctuary
Siobhan Reardon, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia
Al Filries, Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania
Beth Feldman Brandt, poet and Executive Director of the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation
Greg Corbin, Founder and Executive Director, Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement

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