IRENA KACI
Organization and Title: Executive director of the Worcester County Poetry Association
Worcester History: “I came to Worcester in 2002 for college. I went to Clark, and then I moved out of Worcester when I graduated in 2006, then moved back here again in 2014. My spouse works at Clark and I had just had my first child, and it made more sense, so we uprooted and came here. I think, in my heart, I knew I would always end up here. I even have a poem about it.”
Why We’re Watching:
“We are about to launch our youth poetry contest, which, hopefully, will one day connect with the Youth Poet Laureate search for the City of Worcester. We are hoping to cultivate young talent to being in that public-facing role, and the first step to that is getting acquainted with the English teachers in the public school system, connecting with the students coming through, and giving them a reason to feel like this is an important pursuit.
“We’ve just launched our newest publication, ‘Three-Decker.’ The WCPA has been handling the ‘Worcester Review’ for decades now, so we were ready for something more homespun and local that features the local artists of Worcester. The ‘Review’ has an academic perspective that is very wide-reaching, so we are known in the country for that pedigree, and we are looking to have a counterpoint to that that focuses on our local community.
“(‘Three-Decker’ is) also where we hope to publish the youth poetry contest winner. We want there to be a way for young people to connect with poetry, to feel like their voices matter and are heard, and we want to have a platform for them.”
Read about the rest of these superstars here.