New Poet Laureate for Amesbury

Amesbury resident, Stephen R. Wagner, becomes Amesbury’s second Poet Laureate. He is expected to capably follow in the footsteps of Amesbury’s first Poet Laureate, Lainie Senechal. She set a high bar with all her achievements during her two-year term, Stephen feels very strongly that “art may be firmly rooted in the everyday” without compromising the art. He plans to continue Lainie’s philosophy of making poetry accessible to folks in all walks of life. Also, to bring poetry to those who do not automatically gravitate to poetry as well as those that already do. His two volumes of poetry are examples of his ideas. The poems were originally sent as work emails, each containing the words “time sheets” to remind coworkers to submit their weekly time reporting.

Stephen brings a lot of personal excitement and genuine enthusiasm to the position. His goal is “to draw attention to the city, and to the poetry within it, through the fulfillment of my role as the poet laureate”. He will prove to be an asset to both poetry and to Amesbury, alike.

Stephen will be inaugurated as the second Poet Laureate of Amesbury in a ceremony to be held at Whittier Home on January 21, 2018. For more information on the Poet Laureate Program, please refer to the Amesbury Cultural Council’s website at http://www.amesburyculturalcouncil.org/poet-laureate. He will, also, be the featured reader at the Amesbury Public Library Poetry Series on Tuesday January 30th from 6-7:30 PM. The reading includes an open mic and light refreshments. Free and open to the public. Amesbury Public Library, 149 Main St., Amesbury. For information: amesburylibrary.org or 978-388-9771.

The Poet Laureate Program in Amesbury is supported through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to the Amesbury Cultural Council partnered with the Whitter Home Association.

Meta Description: