Stonington has announced: Christie Williams

Christie Williams will be the First (!!) Poet Laureate of Stonington! 

He has graced many an event as an actor, as a viewer, as a poet, as a generous participant, at the Egg, and at Egg events, as well as out and about more widely.   He will be our poet laureate for two years.

There will be a welcoming event at LaGrua on May 19 from 4-6.  Do come!

Here is the press release

Perhaps poet Emily Dickinson expressed it best:
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

Under the direction of the Stonington Cultural District Commission (SCDC), the Town has officially established the position of ‘Poet Laureate’. First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough has appointed Christie Williams, selected as the town’s inaugural poet laureate.

Christie Max Williams’ debut poetry collection, The Wages of Love, won the 2022 William Meredith Poetry Prize. He is also a writer and actor. Though originally from California and then New York City, he now lives in Mystic, Connecticut, where he and his wife raised their daughter and son.

Aligning with National Poetry Month, an application and selection process was rolled out for this two-year post. Cultural District Commission Chair Paul Geise expressed his delight. “Given Stonington’s rich reservoir of talent in various creative arts, this recognition and honor is not only logical but important to celebrate.”

As Poet Laureate, Mr. Williams will be an ambassador for poetry in written, spoken, or sung word, and will implement a community outreach and education program to encourage the appreciation, writing, reading, and performance of poetry. This might include readings, writing workshops, in-person and online discussions and presentations that are free and open to the public, and partnerships with the schools, local community groups and other artistic and cultural organizations will be encouraged. Seeking to be sustainable, the honoree will provide a system and platform for emerging young poets to present their work in conjunction with local partners as well as to encourage an appreciation of the diverse cultural heritage of the Town of Stonington.

There will be an inaugural event on May 19th, from 4-6 pm, at La Grua, in Stonington, to welcome and introduce Christie Williams as our first Poet Laureate. Please come!

A representative panel of judges, overseen by the Cultural District Commission, reviewed and recommended the honoree. Belinda deKay is Director Emeritus of Stonington Free Library, Elysa Engelman is the Director of Research & Scholarship, Mystic Seaport Museum, Willard Spiegelman is a former English professor at Southern Methodist University and currently teaches MFA graduate students in the Columbia University writing program, Anne-Marie Houle is a seasoned social studies educator within the Stonington School System, Marya Ursin is a dancer/theatre maker (actor, director, producer), and is executive director for the Dragon’s as well as co- director of the Mystic Paper Beasts.

Plans are underway to have Mr. Williams begin his tenure and be introduced to the community through several events later this spring and summer.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2025 at 12:57 pm. It is filed under Featured, News and tagged with all ages, poems, poet laureate, poetry, poets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.