You won’t hear much from me here on the Dad Poet until after Thursday. There is just too much to do between now and then. Five poets will be converging on the Pennsylvania state capitol, and I am honored to be one of the five. The news I alluded to earlier this week is that the First Lady of PA and Chair of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Susan Corbet will be present, and introduced by former Poet Laureate of Harrisburg, Nathaniel Gadsden.
Jerry Wemple and Marjorie Maddox, co-editors of Common Wealth, Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania, and Melanie Simms, former Poet Laureate of Perry County will also be reading. Most of us will carry the reading on to the Midtown Scholar bookstore in Harrisburg that evening at 7 pm. If you click on their name above and go to the link you will also see that WITF has selected Marjorie and Jerry’s book as their Pick of the Month!
We will be in the East Wing Rotunda of the Capitol Building from noon to 1:30 pm, and on the main stage at the Midtown Scholar (yes, a bookstore with a “main stage!”) at 7 pm. If any of my readers are in the area, please come by.This is indeed exciting stuff, and it’s an thrilling time I think
to be a poet. Thanks for letting me share all of this with you.
Related articles
- What the Poetry Is Going On Around Here – Dad Poet Readings and News (dadpoet.wordpress.com)
- Pennsylvania Poets Gather to Read Poems at the State Capitol | witf.org (dadpoet.wordpress.com)
David J. Bauman 
The photograph brings to mind “break a leg,” but that doesn’t feel like the right thing to say. Have a great time, and “yay, you!” 🙂
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Yeah, would be a rough place to break a leg. Those cobbled stones seem to be all over in that building! But thanks for the sentiment. 🙂
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Have a wonderful time…look forward to hearing how it all goes.
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It should be a fun, albeit long, day! 🙂 Thanks!
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Bravo! I know it will be wonderful!
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Thank you, Jennifer. I’m more than a little bit nervous. 🙂
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That is fantastic news! I wish I wasn’t in Dixie so I could attend…maybe next time.
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Wait. Who says that? It’s supposed to be, “Oh, I wish I was in Dixie, who-rah, who-rah. . . ” 😉 Good to hear from you, dear! xo
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Great site! Congrats on the public reading. With all the great poets there, I was curious why the state of Pennsylvania doesn’t have a poet laureate?
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Yes, that was something that one of our number had been working on for a while. The immediate answers have to do with funding and politics, and possibly the fact that the last Pennsylvania Poet Laureate held the position for something like three decades. It would be great if we could get the position in place again, but have shorter terms, and tie it in with projects of local importance and education, the way it’s done on a national level.
Thank you for your kind comments! I was just including a page of yours in my related articles in the post I am writing about meeting Billy Collins last night. How delightful that we found each other’s blogs simultaneously. 🙂
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Yes. Florida is having the same kind of problems. We just like the great poet, Edmund Skellings. Sadly, it looks like it will be a long time before they appoint a new one. I wrote Florida arts and legislators, but no response. – I added a link to your site on my sidebar. Ever been to the Kelly Writer’s House at UPenn? I am taking a ModPo class online, but they have great programs there. Wish I was closer. Thanks for visiting my blog!
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Absolutely! Looking at Poetry Quotes now. 🙂 And thank you so much. I haven’t been there, but I know some folks taking the ModPo classes. Sounds like a great opportunity.
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oops. I meant lost Edmund Skellings. (sorry about that.)
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OH! Well, I admit the previous version was kind of daring to say. 😉 tee hee.
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I nominated you for a blog award! Congrats!
http://poetrycurator.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/a-very-inspiring-blogger-award/
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Why thank you. I am honored.
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