Erie County Poetry Anthology begins June 17
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2021
CONTACT:
Sheryl Thomas
sthomas@eriecountypa.gov
814-451-6911
Erie, PA – The Erie County Public Library announces a new poetry journal initiative: The Erie County Poetry Anthology. Leveraging its online tool, BiblioBoard (a platform that allows authors to self-publish their works to the catalog of participating libraries), the library is accepting submissions by local poets for consideration in the journal.
The inaugural publication will occur in late 2021; future plans include a three-year publication schedule. The Erie County Poetry Anthology seeks to preserve and share the artistic vision, talents and perspectives that currently exist among residents within Erie’s local communities, for generations to come.
The anthology will be an online publication with a limited run of print books. Copies will be housed in the Erie County Public Library’s Heritage Collection for historical purposes and added to the circulating collection for patrons to check out.
“We wanted a way to celebrate the poets in Erie County and archive their works, especially documenting the sentiments and styles of our time,” says Patric Nuttall, poetry anthology coordinator for Erie County Public Library. “The whole project is expected to be hyper localized. We’re soliciting poets who reside in Erie County, an Erie County printer will make the salable copies, and the anthology will be available to read through Erie County Public Library.”
Each poet may submit up to four poems from June 17 to Aug. 17, using this submission form: https://erielibrary.librariesshare.com/eriecountypoetry/.
Ebony Payne-English, featured guest judge, will critique and select which poems will represent the best of Erie County’s poetic talent. Payne-English is an accomplished author, playwright, performer and decorated poet. She serves as executive director of The Performers Academy, is a founding member of Southern Fried Poetry, Inc.’s board of directors, and has been featured nationally for her various works. For more information about Payne-English, visit .
Questions and requests for accommodation can be submitted to library-reference@eriecountypa.gov.
Poets interested in the Erie County Poetry Anthology project may also have interest in applying for the Erie County Poet Laureate initiative. Announced at a public event on June 15, applications are now being accepted by qualified poets to become the county’s next Poet Laureate. More information about this initiative and the application process can be found at https://eriecountypa.gov/departments/county-council/bureaus/poet-laureate/.
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