BROOKLINE’S FIRST POET LAUREATE
NAMED BY BROOKLINE COMMISSION FOR THE ARTS
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Judith Steinbergh, poet and educator, to serve two years
Brookline, MA (April 2011) – The Brookline Commission of the Arts (BCA), which coordinates the Brookline Poet Laureate Program, has selected Judith Steinbergh as the Town of Brookline’s first poet laureate.
The Brookline Poet Laureate Program, approved by Brookline’s Board of Selectman in January 2012, seeks to enhance Brookline’s cultural life, promote awareness and appreciation of poetry and the literary arts, and connect members of the community through poetry.
The poet laureate’s activities will focus on celebrating poetry in the town, energizing citizens about the art and pleasures of poetry, and serving as a poet for significant town occasions and events. Appointed for two years, the poet laureate will receive a yearly stipend supported by Bay State Federal Savings Charitable Foundation and Century Bank. Plans are underway for an event during April to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Steinbergh is an accomplished poet and has served in various capacities as educator, poet and writer in Brookline for over 40 years. Steinbergh is Brookline’s first official poet laureate in the town's nearly 400-year history. But the town has a rich tradition of poetry, notably the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Amy Lowell, born in Brookline in 1874.
“I am honored and delighted to be appointed and look forward to serving the town in this important roll,” said Judith Steinbergh, newly named poet laureate of Brookline.
The members of the selection committee, comprised of one arts commissioner and Brookline residents with vocational, commercial, and academic connections to poetry, were Dana Brigham, Michael Burstein, Barbara Helfgott Hyett, Joe McGonegal (chair), John Plotz, Sarath Reddy, Barbara Scotto, and Zvi Sesling.
Candidates for the poet laureate position were required to be residents of Brookline and
have a demonstrated commitment to the community; a substantial body of work, including published work; and the ability and enthusiasm to fulfill the duties of the poet laureate.
“The variety and depth of the first year’s applicants make it clear that Brookline’s literary reach is wide and deep enough to support and appreciate this position,” said Joe McGonegal, selection committee chair and art commission member. “We were very impressed with all
the candidates, and I was pleased with the committee’s vigor in selecting an inaugural poet.”
Joanne Lukitsh, BCA Co-Chair said, “We are excited that Brookline has extended the scope of its celebration of the arts by formally including and recognizing poetry in this public way.”
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The BCA, made up of Brookline residents appointed by the town’s Board of Selectman, funds and administers a broad range of literary, musical, theatrical, video, educational, and arts projects that enhance the cultural life of Brookline. It belongs to the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Local Cultural Council program — the nation’s largest grassroots cultural funding network, supporting thousands of community-based projects annually in the arts, humanities, and sciences in 351cities and towns in the Commonwealth.
News release written by: Jack Curtis
