HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-11-17 Poet Laureate Committee Minutes North Andover Poet Laureate Committee — MINUTES
Monday November 17, 2025 7:00 PM Town Hall, 2n1 floor conference room
Public access email: poetemails@northandoverma.gov
Present: PLC chair: Karen Kline, PLC members: Mark Bohrer, Graham Jackson, Signe Spencer, Dan Speers
Away:Jeanne Madden, Christa Lamb, Michael Finegold. Other invitees:Jason O'Toole, Dave Kres (Select Board)
1. Opening Poem
• Dan read "Semiquincentennial" his new poem on the 2501"Anniversary of the Declaration
2. 2026 Anne Bradstreet Poetry Contest
• Discuss theme ideas
• Suggestions:
o US 250t" anniversary
• Graham's phrase: "The ink is never dry on the Constitution"
• Poetry is a living thing
• Poetry of freedom
0 Nature
• Unplugging from the machine and choosing life
• The wind has ears, the forest has eyes
• Notice what is around you
• Remembering that all life is important
• The cascade of connections
• thinking of what happened when wolves were introduced into Yellowstone
• The art of slowing down
o Notice your world
• What do you see your world?
0 Challenges and Inspiration
• What challenges you?
• What inspires you?
Teachers guide:
A poem isn't about your whole world, it captures a part of it
Maybe use some of these questions in the teachers guide:
• What connects you?What isolates you?
• What do you question?What do you accept?
• What do you want to change?
• What are you afraid of?What do you love?
• What lifts you up?
• What wears you down?
• What do you want to protect?
• What do you want to change?
• What are your questions?
• There are no wrong answers.
• What do you want to capture in your poem?
• What poem do these questions inspire in you?
• Can you capture a piece of your world in a poem?
3. Contest Rules & Dates
• Contest is open to all. Not solely North Andover and Andover
• Promote with local schools, but open to all
• Teacher Award:Jean Caron Recognition
4. Haverhill River Bards web site
• Dan Speers shared:
• https://www.creativehaverhiI1.org/river-bards-poetry-series
• Decennial Anthology is accepting submissions on this web site
• Dan invited people to be judges—Karen and Mark accepted
Not discussed
5. Next Poet Laureate Discussion—defer to next meeting
6. Anne Bradstreet Gratitude event on Common
• Saturday July 11, 2026-tentatively 11AM - 2PM
• Karen's ideas for program
• ACTION: Karen - reserve following Saturday July 18 as rain date
7. Town of North Andover Line item created to fund Poetry Contest&events—can we promote this?
• Fund Name: NA Poet Laureate Committee—Anne Bradstreet Fund
8. Next Meeting : Monday December 8 at 7PM