Rain Poetry 2023 Contest Winners

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The Worcester County Poetry Association is pleased to announce the 2023 Rain Poets and their poems!

2023 Rain Poets, in no particular order:

  • Evan Plante with “Staying Power”
  • Gertrude Malesi with “[Hatua za Wwenyeji]” (Swahili for “A gait that belongs”)
  • Jan Davini with “[The city beats in my heart]”
  • Aidan Brueckner with “Phantom Limb Syndrome”
  • Mark Wagner with “Flying Out of Worcester”
  • Laura DiCaronimo with “Hot Drops”
  • Chloe Mascitelli with “[The world feels lightest in Worcester]”
  • John Zywar with “Indian Lake”
  • Daniel Gregoire with “Worcester Time”
  • Lisa Knight with “Rain Magic”
  • Paul Szlosek with “[When Worcester was Worchester]”
  • David Ginsburg with “Forever Worcester”
  • Emily Haley with “History”
  • 2023 Rain Poetry Honorable Mentions
  • John Zywar with “Interlude”
  • David Ginsburg with “Footsteps”

The selected poems will be painted around the City of Worcester in September 2023 on the sidewalks, primarily at bus stops distributed equitably throughout the city’s districts. The poems will be painted using Rainworks invisible spray, a paint that is only visible when the sidewalks are wet. This year’s locations will be posted on our website, on Facebook, and our Instagram account, so please consult these resources when organizing your rainy-day scavenger hunt to try to visit all thirteen before the sun dries the pavement.

We encouraged submissions from poets of all ages, walks of life, and in any language, that spoke to the poets’ experience of Worcester. The poems were selected in blind readings by a panel of judges that included Worcester Poet Laureate Oliver de la Paz, WCPA Board Member Katherine Gregoire, Clemente Graduate Vanessa Gonzalez-Oyola, 2021 Rain Poet Brett Iarrobino, and Clark Student Nati Botero. The 2023 Rain Poets will be invited to read their poems at a ceremony open to the public later in the fall.

About the Worcester County Poetry Association 

The Worcester County Poetry Association (WCPA) was founded in 1971 with a threefold mission: celebrate the rich literary history and creative energy of Central Massachusetts through public readings, workshops, festivals,  scholarly conferences, and other programs; support the publication of the literary journal, The Worcester  Review; and collaborate with libraries, bookstores, colleges and universities, museums, churches, schools,  community centers, businesses and a variety of cultural organizations to promote poetry events. The WCPA is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

For more information, contact Kate Gregoire, contest chairperson

Extra! Extra! Stanley Kunitz Medal Award is Announced

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Paul Szlosek Chosen for 2023 Stanley Kunitz Medal

 

Portrait photo of Paul Szlosek

Long admired as the inventor of poetry forms and champion of obscure ones, Worcester poet Paul Szlosek is the 2023 Stanley Kunitz Medal recipient. Szlosek is a poet with extraordinary gifts who began writing poetry around 1967 at the age of The Stanley Kunitz Medal originated with a bequest to the Worcester County Poetry Association from the estate of former Poet Laureate of the United States and Worcester native Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006). Szlosek is the ninth recipient of the medal, bestowed annually to a poet with a strong Worcester County connection who best exemplifies Kunitz’s lifelong commitment to poetry by teaching poetry, mentoring poets, speaking poetry, publishing poetry, and supporting organizations that nurture poetry.

 

PAUL SZLOSEK is a poet with extraordinary gifts who began writing poetry around 1967 at the age of five. His mother, Pauline, collected his poems in a small booklet entitled “Paul’s Poet Tree.” These beginning efforts were nourished for decades as he matured into one of the most influential poets in Worcester County. His poems are featured in regional, national, and international print and online journals and anthologies. Paul’s poetry is recognized by numerous awards and honorable mentions, including the Jacob Knight Award for Poetry in 2001. Paul served on the board of the Worcester County Poetry Association for over a decade, where he was co-chair of the committee that created the WCPA’s occasional publication, The Issue – he was also its very first editor. He is well-known in the Worcester poetry community as a fanatical practitioner and promoter of obscure poetry forms, as well as the creator of his own forms, such as the streetbeatina, the sing-sang song, and the ziggurat, all of which he shares with his readers on his blog, Paul’s Poetry Playground. A tradition he began during his First Night Worcester program in association with the WCPA combined poetry, magic, and mathematics, after which he organized and edited dozens of group poems. He has also conducted over two dozen in-depth interviews with poets (local, national, and international) that appear in his monthly online poetry journal, which he compiled and edited in the form of transcripts of imaginary poetry readings called “The International Imaginarium For Word Verse” (formerly known as “The Virtual Poetorium”). He is a frequent workshop leader and participant and visiting poet, not only at schools such as the Floral Street School in Shrewsbury, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Worcester State University, but also at the Peabody Essex Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Worcester Art Museum. As a co-founder and host of the Poets Parlor and Poetorium at Starlite reading and open mic series, Paul continues to inspire countless poets to engage in the magic of poetry.

 

Also honored with nominations this year were poets Rodger Martin and Sharon A. Harmon. Paul Szlosek will receive his medal at a ceremony presented by the Worcester County Poetry Association at the Worcester Historical Museum on Thursday, July 27 th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. There is limited parking at the museum, with additional parking on the street and in the Pearl/Elm Street Garage. Visit Our Website for details.

ATTACHED IMAGE/Paul Szlosek Contact: Judith Ferrara, Chairperson, Stanley Kunitz Medal Committee Judy@PaletteAndPen.com, 508-757-0524

Apply To Be Worcester New Poet Laureate

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Acting City Manager Eric Batista, in collaboration with the City Council and Cultural Development Division, is pleased to announce the nomination process for the City of Worcester’s next Poet Laureate.

We are extremely grateful to the current Worcester Poet Laureate, Juan Matos, who has served our community over the course of his 3 year tenure through a variety of community appearances and programs; sessions with local youth; and mentorship of the Worcester Youth Poet Laureates – Amina Mohammed (2020-2021) and Adael Mejia (2022-2023).

Along with the Worcester Youth Poet Laureate, the Worcester Poet Laureate serves as an official ambassador to Worcester’s historic and vibrant cultures of poetry and literary arts. Both Poets Laureate use their positions to share the transformative qualities of poetry and the written word, to celebrate and amplify the city’s great writers, and to help shape the next generation of literary enthusiasts. In addition to sharing their own poetry and creating new works during their term, the Worcester Poet Laureate also serves as a mentor to the Worcester Youth Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate will serve a three year term,  from January, 2023 through December, 2025.

The next Worcester Poet Laureate’s term will begin Jan. 1, 2023. The deadline to apply or nominate has now been postponed to  October 31, 2022 at 5PM EST. More on the City of Worcester Poets Laureate program, including guidelines and a link to the current application, can be found at WorcesterMA.gov/Cultural-Development/Poet.

All interested in applying or nominating a qualified candidate are encouraged to join a Poet Laureate Application Workshop Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 5:30 p.m. Attendees will have a walkthrough of the application process and can ask questions of Cultural Development staff and current Worcester Poet Laureate Juan Matos. Register for this Zoom workshop at: https://tinyurl.com/yzcyrmb6.