Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program Invites Your Submissions. Win $500

Joanne Leva didn't start out to be a poet. She graduated in 1984 from Arcadia University with a B.F.A in Graphic Design. She was a single mother raising a toddler in 1991. Poetry, what's that?

Today, Leva is the executive producer of the Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program. Her poem, The Makeover, was published in 1999 in the American Poetry Review. Her monthly poetry series, Poetry Forus, met for 15 years.

At first she didn't know what this new language flowing through her fingers was. "I started writing out of the blue," said Leva, "It came out in rhyme."

The poetry community was less accessible two decades ago than it is now. The first poetry slam was in 1988. Open mikes and readings were not well advertised. "I didn't have any kindred spirits," said Leva.

In between caring for her daughter, Leva sifted through the city and started attending any readings she could find. She listened to what her peers had to say, "I am a sponge." She wrote as a mother to her daughter. She learned from poets and their readings. She ran with it.

Leva started Poetry Forus, a poetry group of four men and four women that read monthly in various places in Philadelphia: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Barnes and Noble, laundry mats, street corners. The poets changed every meeting; Leva was always one of the women. She met poet laureates. She performed, she listened.

In 1998, Leva established the Montgomery County Laureate Program with her own funds. She wanted to give back to the community that embraced her, to inspire others. And to learn from others.

The term poet laureate roots itself in the Greek patron of poets, Apollo's, legacy of awarding achievement with a crown of laurel. In 1616 English king James I established Poet Laureate as a royal station, catered toward serving the crown. William Wordsworth's appointment to the office in 1843 by Queen Victoria signified the end of the station's royal connotations and duties; it now signifies excellence in poetry.

In 1936 in the United States, Author Archer M. Huntington established a chair of poetry at the Library of Congress. In 1985 the United States government created the position of poet laureate to be held by the same person in the chair of poetry at the Library of Congress.

The Montgomery County Laureate Program is modeled loosely after the Bucks County Laureate Program. Leva brings in two local judges and one celebrity judge - a well recognized poet - to sift through the many portfolios sent in. The judges change every year. "I want to learn from the people that I get," said Leva. In addition to the annual poetry award, the program works with Arcadia University to offer graduate students internships.

The program has a life of its own. By its fifth year it was established in the community with the help of Arcadia University's connections. It also developed a unique twist. Each poet laureate now chooses a project to pursue the year following his or her win.

The 2006 Poet Laureate Deborah Fries started an online poetry workshop open to the public called E-Calliope. 2007 Poet Laureate David Simpson records and produces a podcast series hosted by the Montgomery County program's website. Simpson interviews local and national poets, records readings, and hosts debates about poetry on the podcasts.

Simpson also recorded and produced the Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program's tenth anniversary CD, which features poems from each of the ten Poet Laureates.

Elizabeth Rivers accepted her award in the annual April ceremony hosted by Arcadia University. Rivers, a retired elementary school teacher, is set to launch PoetryWITS (Writers in the Schools), a poet laureate program geared towards kids grades one through twelve. PoetryWITS is heavily linked to the Montgomery program. Its poet laureates will receive their awards with the Montgomery Poet Laureate in the 2009 April ceremony.

Leva looks on the poetry community as an opportunity to inspire and to learn. The Montgomery County Poet Laureate program is just one of the ways she contributes to that movement. "People think poetry is a Hallmark card, but really poetry is performance," said Leva.

She and her husband, John Mosemann, a jazz musician, collaborated to make "Poetry and Percussion", a mix of Leva's poetry and Mosemann's music to stir the audience's mind and imagination. They perform in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

Leva isn't picky about her favorite part of it all. She's a woman that loves everything. "Writers are so cool," said Leva, "I'm honored to be part of the community."

You can submit a portfolio entry to the Montgomery County Laureate Program at http://www.montcopoet.com.