Call for Poets: Seeking Westchester County Poet Laureate 2024-2026
ArtsWestchester has initiated a call for proposals to help them find and appoint the next Westchester County Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate program embraces both written and spoken poetic traditions and aims to promote poetry as an artistic medium that can “serve underrepresented voices and offer a space for personal reflection and healing.”
The Laureate will engage and connect with the local community and other local poets through front-facing programs and readings throughout their three-year tenure. Required programming includes at least two public readings each year, the presentation of an original poem at a County event each year, three community events per year, during which community members have the opportunity to write and/or share their own poems, and the development of a “humanities project” that brings poetry into the lives of Westchester County residents and visitors. A stipend of $30,000 over the three-year term will be awarded.
A selection panel will make a recommendation to the County based on the applications and subsequent interviews initiated by the panel, which may include professional poets, County representatives, and members of ArtsWestchester’s staff or board. The selection of the Poet Laureate will then be approved by the County.
The deadline for submissions is October 2.
About ArtsWestchester
Founded in 1965, ArtsWestchester is New York State’s largest private not-for-profit arts council. The leading funder and advocate for the arts in Westchester and Rockland Counties, ArtsWestchester works to create an equitable, inclusive, vibrant and sustainable community in which the arts are integral to and integrated into every facet of life. Building on its 60-year legacy, ArtsWestchester advances arts and culture by providing grants, bringing artists into schools and community centers, advocating for the arts, and building audiences through diverse marketing initiatives. ArtsWestchester enriches the lives of everyone in the community and operates a multi-use gallery and home for the arts at 31 Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains, New York.
