FREE WINTER POETRY HOURS
FRIDAY, MARCH 8 AT 12PM/NOON
Philosophy, 10412 Donner Pass Road, Truckee
https://www.truckeephilosophy.com/What is a Poet Laureate and what they do?
A poet laureate is someone chosen—originally by kings, now by governments and civic groups—to represent a region by composing poems for special occasions, reading in public, and helping to focus attention on poetry as an art form. Laureate refers to wearing a crown of laurel leaves, a symbol of honor in Ancient Greece for poets and heroes.
The Nevada County Poet Laureate Program was inaugurated at Sierra Poetry Festival in 2017 in the presence of California Poet Laureate, Dana Gioia. Our program involves writing poems to commemorate county events (the opening of the Madelyn Helling Library's new amphitheater, for instance), reading (at the Sierra Poetry Festival, the Yuba Lit readings, etc.), and developing one or more projects to boost community involvement in poetry.
Current Poet Laureate Molly Fisk has sponsored a community-written poem, run a month of daily writing prompts for county residents, and met with interested locals during monthly designated Poetry Hours in county cafés and wine bars to answer questions and discuss poetry.
Molly Fisk is the author of the poetry collections, The More Difficult Beauty, Listening to Winter, Terrain (co-author), and Salt Water Poems and the essay collections Houston, We Have a Possum; Using Your Turn Signal Promotes World Peace; and Blow-Drying a Chicken. Her essays have aired weekly as part of the News Hour of KVMR-FM Nevada City, CA since 2005. https://www.nevadacountyarts.org/nevada-county-poet-laureate/
