Washington State Poet Laureate Legislation Signed

It's official!

Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima, and Washington Poets Association Secretary Ed Stover, also of Yakima, present Gov. Christine Gregoire with Stover's poem Waiting for the Poets following the signing of House Bill 1279. The bill, prime-sponsored by Skinner, establishes the Washington state poet laureate program.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed Substitute House Bill 1279, the long-awaited legislation that creates the position of Washington State Poet Laureate. The signing makes Washington the 41st state to have such a post.

"It's about time," exclaimed Karen Bonaudi, who, with WPA secretary Ed Stover, co-chaired the WPA committee that has worked for months with the state Arts Commission and Humanities Washington, a nonprofit, to steer the bill through the legislative process.

Bonaudi, a former WPA president, has seen that process falter at least four times in the past 10 years. "We could never get it passed out of commmittee before - the interest just wasn't there."

Not so this year, and certainly not on Thursday, April 19, at about 1:30 p.m. when Bonaudi, Stover, Kris Tucker of the Arts Commission, Karen Munro of Humanities Washington, and a host of others were ushered into the Governor's Conference Room for the big moment.

"Everybody who comes in has to have a poem for me," joked Gregoire as the group filed in.

Stover actually had a poem. State Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima, the prime sponsor of SHB 1279, had asked Stover, who is from Yakima, if he would prepare a poem for the occasion. Stover wrote a short poem, Waiting for the Poets, which Skinner had framed for the governor.

And Roosevelt High School senior Nick David, Seattle, who is poet laureate of his school, read a poem, "Strung Out," which metaphorically explores the strands of life we cling to at the expense of other things that might seem small but turn out to be important.

The idea seemed appropriate, said David, a grand-nephew of House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. "It might seem like small legislation, but I think it will have a big impact," he said.

Gregoire agreed: "Creating a poet laureate for Washington honors the role played by poetry and poets in the creative culture of our state," she said as she signed the bill.

That role will be a proactive one, said Skinner following the ceremony: "The poet laureate will be the state's official spokesperson in verse," she said. "This person will be asked to share poetry and write it for special occasions. This individual will go into communities and work with groups, organizations and schools to expand the use of poetry."

Stover said the partnership of the WPA, Arts Commission and Humanities Washington will work together to develop the program, which will be administered by the Arts Commission.

Under the law, the commission gets a start-up appropriation of $30,000 for the 2007-09 biennium to cover expenses such as travel and a stipend for the poet. Future funding will come from other sources: gifts, grants and endowments. The WPA will spearhead that effort, said Stover, adding the partnership is lucky because Humanities Washington director Ted Lord has extensive fund-raising experience.

"Ted will be a great resource," said Stover. "Humanities Washington also has people in place to provide the administrative support we need to conduct a fund-raising campaign."

Obviously, poetry lovers throughout the state will be asked to contribute whatever they can. "We hope people will be generous, give what they can afford," he said, adding the goal is to create a $300,000 endowment fund that will generate enough interest to fund annual program expenses.

Bonaudi said the immediate task at hand is deciding who will be the poet laureate. The law calls for the Arts Commission to appoint a selection committee. Kris Tucker says that committee will represent education, the publishing industry, the state library, Humanities Washington and the WPA.

Under the law, the poet laureate will "promote and encourage poetry within the state, including but not limited to readings, workshops, lectures ... in geographically diverse areas over a two-year term." The selection committee will establish final critieria, but candidates must be state residents who are published, who are active as poets, and who are willing to serve a two-year term.

"We hope to have someone named in 2008 - between now and then we will be working on the process," Bonaudi.

Tucker, who likes to call poetry "the people's art," said the signing of the bill after so many years, is cause for poetry lovers throughout the state to rejoice.

"And it couldn't have happened at a better time because April is National Poetry Month."

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