Poet Laureate Sought

By KAITLYN KILMETIS

A literature teacher once said that subtlety is for children. A questionable premise, but one that certainly applies to the aesthetics of the tango. This ever-more-popular dance adapts itself to a myriad of musical styles and time signatures, relying on the dynamism of the dancers to pull it along.

Calling all Sunnyside Shakespeares, Flushing Frosts and Woodhaven Whitmans: on Tuesday, the Borough President announced the search for the Queens Poet Laureate is officially underway.

BP Helen Marshall and Queens College President James Muyskens welcomed Queens residents with a poetic flair to apply to serve a three-year, honorary appointment as the borough's fifth Poet Laureate.

"Here in Queens, we are blessed to have an enormous number of talented poets," Marshall said. "We are looking for one who, like our four previous Poets Laureate, has a unique ability to inspire Queens residents of all ages and cultural backgrounds, who will promote a love of poetry among young and old, and who will actively engage our multi-ethnic communities in the art of poetry reading and writing for the next three years."

To be eligible, the poet must be available to participate in an annual event, have lived in Queens for at least the past two years and demonstrated a significant publication record.

In order to apply to the be borough's honored poet, you must send no more than 10 single-sided pages of your best poetry, which includes work related to Queens, along with a cover letter, brief general bio and literary resume. Applications must be received by April 14.

The selection will be made by a panel of judges chosen by the Queens Poet Laureate Administrative Committee and be reviewed by the Borough President.

The next Queens Poet Laureate will be announced at a ceremony in June.

Additional information about the Poet Laureate search is available at queensbp.org.

Reach Reporter Kaitlyn Kilmetis at kkilmetis@queenstribune.com, or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128.