04 21 06 poet laureate dm

Nassau County Legislator Dave Mejias (D-North Massapequa) today urged support of a law which would appoint a Nassau County Poet Laureate, who will serve for a period of two years. The Poet Laureate will be charged with promoting and encouraging poetry within the county and will give two public readings each year. The proposed law will go before the full Legislature this Wednesday, May 3.

At a press conference last week at the Farmingdale Library, Legislator Mejias was surrounded by poetry advocates, the former Suffolk County Poet Laureate and members of the Committee for a Nassau County Poet Laureate. He expressed excitement at the prospect of Nassau County selecting its first Poet Laureate.

“I thought perhaps, I’d never see

A law that speaks of poetry.

A law that gives the special task,

Of reciting poems to all who ask,” said Mejias.

“Poetry brings a sense of peace into the very hectic lives of Nassau County residents,” said Mejias. “It’s a celebration of language, culture and life.”

Legislator Mejias became interested in appointing a Nassau County Poet Laureate when a group of his Farmingdale constituents brought the issue to his attention. “The Committee for a Nassau County Poet Laureate, lead by Paula Camacho, has been instrumental in bringing this to my attention and I applaud all their efforts,” said Mejias.

“Poetry is the expression of the heart and soul of people,” said Ms. Camacho. “The Nassau County Poet Laureate would exemplify Nassau’s place as a cultural seedbed for the arts and allow the entirety of Long Island to develop a regional sense of a school of poetry by promoting interest in Nassau writers, past and present, by stimulating reading and writing in our local schools with the goal of improving our children’s abilities to master these subjects and by bringing attention to the county through readings in Nassau and the greater United States of America.”

Under the Nassau County Poet Laureate Law, every two years the legislature will designate a Poet Laureate for the County. The individual will be selected by a Nassau County Poet Laureate Panel which will be named by the legislature. The panel will consist of: a Nassau County educator who teaches poetry selected by the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents; an active member of the poetry community named by the County Executive’s office; an active member of the poetry community named by the Presiding Officer of the Nassau County Legislature; the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Nassau County Community College, or his or her designee; and a member of the Nassau County Library Association designated by the Library Association;

The panel will make a selection by March 1, 2007. Once a candidate is named to the position, the Poet Laureate’s “job description” will include “promoting and encouraging poetry within the county and giving two public readings within the county each year.”

"I am impressed with the leadership of Nassau in recognizing the talents of its residents, and the culture which is nurtured by the towns and villages and natural resources," stated George Wallace, First Poet Laureate, Suffolk County. "Nassau County's has a long history of generating individuals who have made contributions to the literary arts -- individuals such as Walt Whitman, William Cullen Bryant, F Scott Fitzgerald, Christopher Morley, Dorothy Parker, Paul and Jane Bowles and Louise Gluck. Establishing a position of Poet Laureate for the county will not only help to highlight writers of the past, but also encourage today's writers -- and succeeding generations -- to add to that exceptional record of accomplishment."

Mejias proposes official poet for Nassau Countyin honor of National Poetry Month

Mejias proposes official poet for Nassau County
in honor of National Poetry Month