Worcester Searching For New City Poet Laureate

WORCESTER, MA — The city of Worcester revived its poet laureate program this week, and has created a new position for a youth poet laureate. Both will serve as "ambassadors of Worcester’s historic, vibrant, poetic and literary culture," city officials said this week.

City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said in a statement that the laureate roles will keep Worcester's literary tradition alive in the footsteps of award-winning hometown authors like Elizabeth Bishop and Stanley Kunitz.

The city will accept applications for both jobs through Nov. 13. The city poet laureate will serve a three-year term beginning in January, and will get an annual $1,000 honorarium. The youth laureate will get a $2,500 scholarship, plus a $500 stipend honorarium, but will only serve a two-year term.

But jobs come with plenty of responsibilities. The city poet laureate will be required to visit schools and hold public events, and produce poems about life in the city of Worcester.

If you want to nominate someone for either job — or nominate yourself — the full range of application details can be found on the city website.