Archive: Around Town

Tompkins County Legislature Chair Martha Robertson announced the appointment of Tish Pearlman as Tompkins County Poet Laureate for 2013.

"We are fortunate in Tompkins County to have an abundance of talent when it comes to our poets laureate, with each bringing their own style, interests, and inspiration,” Robertson said.  “We're really looking forward to Tish Pearlman's tenure as our 2013 Poet Laureate."

A writer, broadcast journalist, and community and political activist, Pearlman has lived in Ithaca since 1999.  She is well-known as host of the award-winning public radio interview show “Out of Bounds” and, as part of her past local work as a broadcast journalist, hosted “The Amnesty International Human Rights Journal” on Ithaca’s Channel 13.

Pearlman’s artistic experience as a poet goes back to the 1970s, when she gave many readings at political and literary events on the central California coast, with her work appearing in several literary journals and local magazines.  Her current work has appeared in The Healing Muse (2010, 2011, 2012), The Ithaca Times, The Syracuse Post Standard Healthy CNY Magazine, and Conversations Across Borders.  Two of her poems were accepted for an upcoming anthology, The Art of Medicine in Metaphors, due out this year.  Pearlman’s first collection, a chapbook of poetry retelling her near-death heart surgery experience, is entitled “The Fix Is In,” published by Finishing Line press in January 2012.

Since its establishment, the selection and announcement of the Tompkins County Poet Laureate has been a process administered by the Community Arts Partnership (CAP), which solicits nominations and organizes the selection panel that considers the appointment. For this year’s selection, a panel consisting of members of the community, the county legislature, and past Poets Laureate reviewed a stack of very qualified and impressive nominees.

According to Brett Bossard, executive director of CAP, the nomination of Tish Pearlman quickly rose to the top.  “Tish’s extensive body of work as a poet truly impressed the panel,” Bossard notes, “and her ongoing work in the community as an advocate for social justice convinced us that her unique voice will be a perfect fit for the position of Poet Laureate.”

The new Poet Laureate will be introduced to the Legislature and community at the County Legislature’s January 15 meeting.  Pearlman succeeds past Poet Laureate Gail Holst-Warhaft, who served during 2011 and 2012.

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