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MCA executive committee recommends pivot from poet laureate search to year‑round poetry and literacy programming
Summary
Staff reported low response to a poet‑laureate call and proposed replacing the single‑person laureate model with a sustained Poetry Month (April) program focused on literacy, pop-ups, workshops and a $250 Susan DeAllison poetry award; commissioners supported presenting the plan to the full commission.
Keisha told the executive committee the poet‑laureate call produced little response and recommended the MCA reframe the initiative into a broader Poetry Month and literacy program rather than appointing a single laureate.
Keisha said she had assembled a committee, posted the call and received no substantive responses within the deadline; a late application was declined. She proposed the MCA use Poetry Month (April) as a recurring platform that would include performances, workshops, pop‑ups, youth engagement and a Susan DeAllison poetry award with a $250 honorarium stewarded by the community foundation. "We could be the stage," Keisha said, describing an emphasis on cultivating poets and literacy across generations rather than relying on a single titleholder.
Commissioners expressed support for the programming pivot, noting poetry and literacy are quieter, harder‑to‑surface activities compared with music ambassadors and other arts programs. "Giving it more of a presence in this month‑long celebration...would definitely help out," one commissioner said, and several volunteered to participate in workshops and school outreach.
Keisha said ARPA funds will be used to seed professional‑development series and artist engagements and that the MCA should present the programming concept to the full commission for discussion and potential action. Commissioners recommended the executive committee flag the idea for the next full commission agenda and to provide staff support as the office develops the spring programming calendar.
The committee did not take a formal vote to adopt the poetry‑month plan but directed staff to include the concept on the full commission agenda for broader consideration.
