First poet laureate of Oak Ridge named
Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch appointed Erin Elizabeth Smith as Oak Ridge’s first poet laureate at Monday night's City Council meeting.
The newly named position is for a term of two years. In addition to being an Oak Ridge resident, the Oak Ridge poet laureate performs duties such as reading poems at ceremonial events, examples of which might include the unveiling of a new building or bridge, festivals, writing workshops, summer celebrations, library events, etc. She may also read poems at City Council or other public meetings.
The new poet laureate is expected to champion the art of poetry in Oak Ridge in person and on social media and encourage appreciation of the art form and creative expression by a wide range of city residents, including youth, by celebrating the city’s cultural heritage, and by attending literary and other cultural events in the city as appropriate.
The Oak Ridge poet laureate will give five to 10 public readings per year, including workshops that are free and open to the public, as well as visits to schools and/or events for young people. Also, she will serve as an adviser to the Poet Laureate Committee to help choose a youth poet laureate.
Smith is the author of "The Fear of Being Found" (Three Candles Press 2008) and "The Naming of Strays" (Gold Wake Press 2011). Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, including 32 Poems, New Delta Review, Yalobusha Review, Water-Stone, Cimarron Review, and RHINO.
She teaches in the English Department at the University of Tennessee and serves as the managing editor of "Stirring: A Literary Collection" and the "Best of the Net Anthology." She is the founder and creative director of Sundress Academy of the Arts, a writers’ retreat on a 45-acre farm in Knoxville that offers short-term residencies to writers in all genres, including poetry, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, screenwriting, academic writing, and more.
Her term will begin March 1 and run through Feb. 28, 2024.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: First poet laureate of Oak Ridge named
