Birmingham is one of two Alabama cities selected to a add a new position to help spread poetry in the state. Mobile is the second.
Applications open today (August 1) for the 2024-2025 City of Birmingham Poet Laureate initiative. This program is in partnership with the City of Birmingham and Create Birmingham and is funded by the Alabama State Council on the Arts and The Birmingham City Council’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Committee.
The Birmingham Poet Laureate will begin their two-year term in January 2024. This is an honorary position for the Magic City. Roles and responsibilities include creating original works of poetry to commemorate special occasions and moments in the city. They will also work with schools and libraries to do workshops and build advocacy and community through poetry.
Viola Ratcliffe is the Community Engagement Manager with the non-profit Create Birmingham. Ratcliffe said the Birmingham Poet Laureate position will help make literary works more available in Alabama.
“Having a poet laureate will hopefully make poetry more accessible to folks in our communities, (and) also provide opportunities for those who do write poetry, or who do spoken word, to do it as an ambassador for the city. But then to also be able to be compensated and monetize it.”
Ratcliffe said along with the different roles and responsibilities, the Birmingham Poet Laureate position also comes with an honorarium of $5,000.
“That's something that we're very happy about and really advocate for,” she explained. “Making sure that arts are something that are monetized for artists. And that if you are an artist, you're able to make a living doing the work that you do, because it is so vital to our communities, and to our state and country overall, to have people be able to live and work as creatives.”
This position is specific to Birmingham and is different from the Poet Laureate of Alabama. The position for the state was established in 1931 by an act of the Alabama Legislature. Poets Laureate, who must have been Alabama residents for at least 15 years, are chosen by the governor. They serve four-year terms.
Ashley Jones is the current Poet Laureate of Alabama. She will serve in the state position until 2026. Viola Ratcliffe with the non-profit Create Birmingham said Jones has been helping get the ball rolling on the new opening coming to the Magic City.
“Ashley was thrilled that this was an opportunity for Birmingham, and that it also provided other opportunities for residents within the state of Alabama,” Ratcliffe explained. “They have these experiences. And to serve as Poet Laureate, to be able to do more with poetry through it, within their communities.”
Ratcliffe also went on to say that Jones “has been such a huge support for us, and (she) has really worked with us to help get the word out and helped develop this program in a way to make sure that it was something that would definitely be a benefit to the city and the way that it was developed and promoted.”
According to Create Birmingham’s website, In order to be eligible, applicants must:
- Be age 18 years old or older at the time of application
- Reside in the city of Birmingham at the time of application and for the duration of the appointment
- Demonstrate a track record of public presentation of original poetry, including in-person and/or online events and via websites and/or social media
- Have the capacity and availability to attend periodic public events over the course of the two-year term
Key dates to remember:
- August 1, 2023: Application opens
- September 29, 2023: Final day to submit application questions by 5 pm
- October 2, 2023: Submissions due by 11:59 pm
- November 2023: Finalist interviews take place
- December 2023: Poet Laureate is selected and announced
- January 2024: Poet Laureate officiation and start of two-year term
