Arts Commission

Middletown Commission on the Arts Poet Laureate Subcommittee meeting AGENDA Monday, May 7, 2018 6 p.m. City Hall, Room B-19 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown, CT 06456 1) Call to order: 6:10 p.m. Present: Cassandra Day, Crystal Laffan, Franca Biales; Lee Godburn briefly by cellphone. 2) Public session: No members of the public present. 3) Poet Laureate interview panel makeup: Laffan suggested making sure people of color were represented in the panel. Commissioners talked about Wesleyan’s writing department as a good place to ask for candidate suggestions. Also discussed college/secondary educators, another poet laureate or published/working poet as possible others. Godburn said three or four other panel members would be ideal. 4) Outgoing/incoming poet laureate event details/dates: To be discussed at our next yet-to-be-scheduled meeting. 5) How to best get word out on call for applications: Biales will talk with arts office secretary Kisha Michael this week to firm up where to tell poets to email their applications/work samples and other questions now that Stephan Allison is retired. Once confirmed, Day will send out the press release to media outlets and places like Wesleyan, Middlesex Community College, Wesleyan R.J. Julia Booksellers, Klekolo, The Buttonwood Tree, ect., as well as the Connecticut Poetry Society. 6) Other: No other 7) Adjournment: 7:03 p.m.