PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY – (Press Release) On Sunday, October 8th, in the Black Box Theatre at the Woodbridge NVCC Campus, Natalie Potell, a Manassas resident, and Fairfax County Firefighter, was crowned the Prince William County Poet Laureate 2018-2020. The two year term was previously filled by Kathy Smaltz of Nokesville. Candidates included Bennie Herron, Chalet A. Jean-Baptiste, Cherryl T. Cooley, David Wayne Martin, Jennifer Budlong Cole, John Dutton, Katherine M. Gotthardt, Kim Bois-Miller, Kitra MartinDavis, and Tom Basham. Nominations underwent a review by a panel of judges after a competitive nomination process. Potell was chosen blindly from among the eleven nominees based on her submitted poems and her poetry project involving the community. Ms. Potell’s poetry project will be a tribute to her recently deceased pen pal and the memorable letters he left behind. She proposes to choose a different poem, by different authors every day and mail it to two randomly chosen County residents for two years.
Sunday, October 8th, was also the official Poet Laureate Day as proclaimed by the PWC Board of Supervisors to recognize poetry as an art form, to embody the heart and soul of our community, and to officially herald all eleven nominees as “chosen and tasked to promote poetry, heighten local appreciation of the art form, and to undertake an individual project designed to make poetry more available and accessible to Prince William County citizens in their everyday lives.” All attending Nominees at the crowning ceremony were inducted into the Poet Laureate Circle in recognition of their writing talent, community spirit, and personal commitment in promoting awareness and appreciation of poetry. John Dutton, a 6th grade Language Arts teacher at Belville Middle School was awarded a special ‘project trophy’ for his poetry events entitled ‘Spilled Ink’. Dutton hosts this open-mic event for the written word every fourth Friday at Jirani’s in Manassas and every second Friday at Lakeside Cafe’ and Grill in Lake Ridge.
The Prince William County Poet Laureate initiative began in 2014 when Dr. Robert Scott and Alexandra Hailey were crowned for a two year term. The Prince William County Poet Laureate serves to promote an awareness of poetry and to heighten appreciation of the art form and will forge a meaningful connection between poetry and the community by participating in public gatherings, initiating engaging dialogue with residents, and by undertaking a project which makes poetry more available and accessible to people in their everyday lives. Candidates must be eighteen years of age or old, must have lived in the area for at least two previous years and must maintain residence in the Prince William County area during the full two-year term to receive an honorarium of $500 per year.
The Prince William County Arts Council would like to thank The Clearbrook Foundation and Woodbridge NVCC campus for sponsoring the Prince William County Poet Laureate For more information about the Poet Laureate Circle, or to contact Ms. Potell or any of the other Nominees for a speaking engagement, please contact Alice Mergler:
[email protected].
OBJECTIVES and DUTIES of the Poet Laureate:
· Bring recognition to the history and tradition of poetry, celebrate present contributions, and support advancement of the literary arts for the Greater Prince William area and its residents.
· Inspire and encourage others in an understanding and sharing of poetry and other personal creative expressions.
· Promote poetry and other literary endeavors through the media and collaborations with the schools, cultural organizations, and community institutions.
· Represent the Prince William County area in the wider regional creative arts community.
· Create new literary work which is grounded in the creative arts culture of the Prince William area.
· Contribute to the Prince William Arts Council Web Site and its monthly Newsletter.
· Participate in the Poet Laureate Circle activities and public readings.
· Participate in PWC Arts Council events including Arts Alive and Seefeldt Awards.
· Participate in the Prince William Poet Laureate Day programs, officially named by Prince William County, and celebrated on the Sunday prior to Columbus Day.
· Create and present at least one outreach or educational project that connects literary arts with the Greater Prince William community.
· Help to develop school initiatives, i.e. student workshops and/or presentations at Prince William County Schools and college campuses in the Greater Prince William area
