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Date: 11/18/2020
ENFIELD, CT – Retiree Elizabeth Szewczyk was chosen by the Enfield Culture and Arts Commission to be the town's first Poet Laureate.
The Poet Laureate serves as an advocate for poetry and promotes the appreciation of and participation in poetry and literary arts activities among Enfield citizens. Szewczyk will serve for a two-year term, which is renewable through the application process.
“I was thrilled because I had definite ideas of what I wanted to do to try to spread the love of poetry starting with children,” Szewczyk said. “People have different views on poetry. They sometimes don’t understand that poetry is not just free verse, and it’s much more than Shakespeare. A lot of poetry doesn’t require deep study. You can read it for what it says and love it.”
The Enfield Culture and Arts Commission (ECAC) was brought together by the citizens of Enfield and the town council to provide the community with opportunities of organized trips to various museums and live performances.
Over the last six years, ECAC has gone through a restructuring, and is now focusing its energies on bringing people into their community as they foster the expansion of the arts and culture in Enfield.
The ECAC members approached the Enfield Town Council for permission to locate and interview a candidate who could fulfill a proposed position of Poet Laureate. The council accepted the addition of the role to the community as well as granting the Enfield Culture and Arts Commission authority of selecting the proper candidate. ECAC worked with Town Advisor and Director of Enfield Public Library Jason Neely to write and distribute an application for the role.
“There was a lot of interest in the position, however Elizabeth stood out among everyone,” said Culture and Arts Commission Chair Emily McIntosh. “Her passion and dedication to this particular role exceeded anyone's expectations. Elizabeth has a long history with poetry and literature, even having been published herself. Elizabeth did not just want the role and title of Poet Laureate, she demonstrated drive and desire to enrich our community of all ages.”
McIntosh went on to say, “It is one of the ECACs missions to enrich and cultivate our community through arts and culture. Elizabeth’s life work and enthusiasm embodies just that. Her appointment to this role was a unanimous decision.”
Szewczyk was exposed to reading at a young age. Both of her parents loved to write, she explained.
“My mother read to me when I was a young child. Then, in second grade, I had a teacher who helped me develop my love for reading even more. That was when I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I never changed my mind about that,” Szewczyk stated.
Szewczyk attended the University of Saint Joseph and earned a Bachelors in education and Masters in reading and education. She taught in West Hartford and then was offered a position at Asnuntuck Community College as an adjunct professor of poetry. That's where Szewczyk revealed she got her love for poetry from. She befriended a teacher who taught poetry and decided to sit in on the class so she could learn more about it.
“It just seems to come so naturally. I loved everything about it,” told Szewczyk. “All the different nuances, the different ways to write poetry and loved reading and writing poetry myself.”
When that teacher retired, Szewczyk took over the poetry class for 15 years until she retired in 2016.
In 2009, Szewczyk published her first book of poetry titled, “This Becoming” and in 2019 released “Daybreak Lullabies.”
Through teaching poetry, Szewczyk knew about different Poet Laureates in the town. One she was familiar with was named Margaret Gibson who was the Poet Laureate of Connecticut.
Szewczyk said she wondered why Enfield didn't have a Poet Laureate. She went to the ECAC two years ago for them to consider having one and presented what the role could do for the town.
A year later, Szewczyk saw an advertisement on the website for Enfield that the ECAC was looking for a Poet Laureate and the requirements for the role.
“The Poet Laureate has to have a specific number of books published,” Szewczyk added. “Had to have done readings and really communicate the love of poetry in a lot of ways. You had to have references, submit 10 poems to the committee to become Poet Laureate and had to make a two-year commitment for this.”
Szewczyk said she applied for the position and wrote what she felt she could do for the community. She chose 10 poems from all the books she had published, sent them in to the town and waited. Seven months later, she received a phone call and was asked to be the Poet Laureate.
“A lot of people who say they hate poetry don't understand it,” Szewczyk said. “Poetry is really music. If you take away the notes and just look at the words, you’re reading poetry. It’s rhyming, it’s talking about love, freedom or anything in your life that helps people. Writing poetry that you want to share with someone, or keep in a journal, helps you bring out feelings you have.”
Part of the role of Poet Laureate has Szewczyk writing a monthly column about poetry in the Journal Inquirer. After the monthly column, Szewczyk is planning to put together an anthology of poems that people in Enfield will write.
Szewczyk’s first reading function will be at Wreaths Across America in December. She noted she also would like to start a poetry group on Zoom at the library after COVID-19 is under control.
She has seven books of poetry for children slated for publication in 2021. The first two entitled “Poppy Pickleopolis” for children ages 5-10 and “All Aboard the Potty Train” geared towards preschoolers.
Her goal is to have copies of these books go into every public school and day care in Enfield.
“My hope is to bring more exposure about poetry in the town and have people who didn’t know about poetry understand that poetry is a beautiful genre,” Szewczyk expressed. “If one person comes out of the two years, I serve thinking he/she likes poetry and wants to read and/or write it, then I’ll feel my two years were successful.”