Media Guide

MORE THAN TWO DOZEN NEW HAMPSHIRE LOCALES
TO HOST READINGS BY U.S. POETS LAUREATE

CONCORD, NH-March 4, 2003-Nearly two dozen poets laureate from as far away as Alaska and Wyoming will be bringing their poetry to 26 different New Hampshire venues in celebration of National Poetry month and Poetry and Politics, the first-ever gathering of poets laureate from around the nation. From Berlin to Barrington, visiting poets will be joined by New Hampshire's own poets in a day of readings on Friday, April 25th.

The poetry tour will begin at 10 am on Friday morning in coffee houses, libraries, businesses, schools and churches throughout the state, according to Katie Goodman, executive director of The New Hampshire Writers' Project, coordinator of the event. "The idea is to expose as many citizens as possible to poetry in one day, so we're not just going to traditional poetry venues. Instead, they'll be reading in places as diverse as the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness and the lobby of Jefferson Pilot Financial in Concord," explains Goodman. To enable people to plan their poetry tour of the Granite State, a complete listing of the latest venues and poets is available on the Web site www.poetryandpolitics.org.

Each visiting poet laureate will be accompanied by one or more New Hampshire writers. "We wanted to make sure that we celebrated our own native talent as well," explains Marie Harris, New Hampshire's poet laureate, who thought up the idea of Poetry and Politics. "There are a great many people in New Hampshire that have no concept of the depth and breadth of writing talent here in New Hampshire."
The weekend of Poetry and Politics will be the first time in history that the nation's poets laureate will have met in one place.

The weekend is dedicated to encouraging a discussion of the poet in society. Following the day of poetry readings, a day of panel discussions between the poets and leading politicians, members of the media, academics and business people will take place at The Highlander Inn and Conference Center in Manchester. Panel discussions include the Poet as Citizen, Poetry and Education, Poetry and Community, Human Creativity and the Brain, Poetry and the Media, Poets and Politicians, and Poetry and the Spirit.

Saturday night, a gala dinner at the Center of NH will celebrate the gathering of poets and recognize the state's supporters of poetry and the arts, with a keynote speech by the incoming Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, poet and essayist Dana Gioia.

Poetry and Politics is a collaborative project that is being produced by the New Hampshire Writers' Project in association with the Academy of American Poets and the State of New Hampshire, through the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding support from Jefferson Pilot Financial, Verizon, RMC Research, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the New Hampshire Humanities Council and the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.