Montgomery County Poets Laureate
The Annual Montgomery Poet Laureate Competition is the foundation upon which the MCPL Program was built. The competition is the ultimate expression of the program’s mission; creating an ever expanding community of poets, supporting their work and providing opportunities for poets to elevate their visibility while also benefiting the community with their service project, many of which continue long beyond their tenure.
How does the competition work?
Each year MCPL recruits a celebrity poet with a national reputation, who along with two additional local Delaware Valley poets, adjudicate the submitted manuscripts.
The newly selected Montgomery County Poet Laureate is honored with an award in the amount of $500 along with a personalized statement about their work, which is shared through MCPL and other local organizations.
The Award is presented during an Award Ceremony and Reading, open to the public and attended by the celebrity judge and previous poets laureate to read with and welcome the newest member of their esteemed ranks.
Who can compete?
Poets of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to submit their poetry for review and adjudication in the annual competition. Poets must also be residents of Montgomery County. The window for submissions generally opens in early December and closes mid-February with the winner to be announced at the end of March.
The role of the Poet Laureate
The Poet Laureate functions as an ambassador for poetry in Montgomery County from April 1 of the year of his/her naming to March 31st of the following year. This role includes working with MCPL’s Executive Director, Joanne Leva, to develop a schedule of readings, workshops
Appearances may include the Forgotten Voices Poetry Group, Farley’s Bookshop First Thursday Poetry Reading Series, and the annual Caesura Poetry Festival. They may also hold the office of “
2004 Poet Laureate – Teresa Mendez-Quigley
Poet Laureate 2004
TERESA MENDEZ-QUIGLEY
Teresa Méndez-Quigley won second prize in the Annual Mad Poets Competition in 2000 and her poem “Dreaming In Italian” won Judge’s Choice award in 2001. Teresa was one of five winners in the ‘Significant Other’ competition for emerging women poets, resulting in a reading performance at the Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia in 2002. In 2004, she was selected poet laureate by Ellen Bryant Voigt.
Since 2000, Teresa has studied with poet Christopher Bursk. Her poems have appeared in four volumes of the Mad Poets Review, Drexel Online Journal, Philadelphia Poets, Feile Festa, California Quarterly, Freshet, and the anthology, Not What I Expected.
Teresa has a Masters in Social Work and works in the field of environmental health. She and her husband also own Healthy Spaces, and reside in Springfield Township. For fun, she’s now trying to learn Gaelic.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Poets Laureate
