City of Orlando – Poet Laureate 

 

Greetings,

On behalf of our City Council and our residents, I am excited to announce our search for the city’s second poet laureate. I appointed Orlando’s first poet laureate, Susan Lilley, in October of 2017. Susan has helped us design our poet laureate’s role and I applaud her efforts. I will appoint our next poet laureate in October and we hope that you will help us find just the right person.  The arts and poetry are important parts of our cultural fabric in Orlando. Our poet laureate creates and expands our literary engagement with our residents and community.  We are partnering with United Arts of Central Florida to find Orlando’s next poet laureate!

Sincerely,

Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando

 

See the guidelines linked below for eligibility requirements and duties.

Media Announcement

Guidelines

Application Form

Applications are due by 5:00 PM June 18, 2021.

 

Key Dates:

• April 26, 2021:   Mayor announces search
• June 18, 2021:    Application closes
• July 2021:           Search committee reviews applications
• August 2021:      Mayor interviews finalists
• October 2021:    Announcement of next poet laureate during National Arts & Humanities Month

2021 Poet Laureate Search Committee:

• Committee Chair: Jennifer Quigley, Principal, WBQ Design & Engineering, Inc.  
• Vidhu Aggarwal, Associate Professor of English, Rollins College 
• Dr. Shari Koopman, Professor of English, Valencia College Teaching/Learning Academy
• Tamara J. Madison, Writer, Poet, Editor, Professor of English, Valencia College
• Christopher Neumann, Collection Development Librarian, Orange County Library System
• Obi Nwakanma, Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing, UCF
• Ryan Rivas, Publisher, Burrow Press

 

Orlando Poet Laureate in the News:

Orlando Weekly: Orlando Seeks New Poet Laureate
Bungalower: Orlando is looking for a new Poet Laureate

 

Orlando Poet Laureate in the News Archive

 

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