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I received this letter from Somerville Poet Laureate Lloyd Schwartz.   It is a fine opportunity for young Somerville poets to be published.  Please check it out:

As a poet myself, who has lived in Somerville for many years, I was honored to be named Somerville’s Poet Laureate, the person who’s in charge of spreading the word about the importance of poetry in all our lives. I’ve been discovering that some really good poems are being written by our younger citizens—high school students and even students younger than that.

Somerville Poet Laureate
Lloyd Schwartz

This year I was one of 23 American poets from around the entire country to be awarded a “Poets Laureate Fellowship” from the Academy of American Poets, which provided me with some money to fund a variety of programs related to poetry.

The one I’m most excited about is the creation of an anthology of poem by younger Somerville poets, 6th through 12 grades. I’ve met some of you and I’m very impressed with how good your poems are. So, I’d like to invite all Somerville students, from grade 6 through high school seniors to write poems about some aspect or quality of Somerville. It could be about your experience of living in or moving to Somerville, your room, your house, your neighborhood, your friends and neighbors, what you see from your window, where you like to hang out or eat, Somerville’s diversity, or even something about Somerville’s fascinating history (like the Nunnery Grounds, Paul Revere’s ride, or even how Somerville got its name). Your poems could be about what you like about Somerville, what you don’t like about Somerville, or how you think Somerville could be better.

What interests you about Somerville that you could write a poem about?

Could you please send me one, two, or three poems to somervillepoet@gmail.com? A committee will help me select up to three of your submitted poems to be published in a book called The View from Somerville: Somerville Poems by Somerville Students. Contributors would each receive 20 copies of the book, which you could sell for whatever price you chose (say $15 or $20) or give as gifts. You’d be a published poet!

Please submit your poems by November 18, and I will get back to you as soon as possible after that date. I know you will have some great poems and I look forward to seeing them!

Sincerely,

Lloyd Schwartz
Somerville Poet Laureate

 This publication is made possible by the Academy of American Poets with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.