April is National Poetry Month, and Arlington’s poet laureate emerita is not, shall we say, resting on her laurels.
Rather, Katherine Young has launched a pop-up project that will bring a daily dose of beauty, insight and inspiration to local residents abiding by current social distancing mandates.
Every day this month, Young will post a poem from the forthcoming anthology, Written in Arlington, made possible with a 2020 Arlington County individual artist grant. “All the poets [in the anthology], some from as far away as Russia and Australia, are connected to Arlington,” Young says, “and all the poems speak to what makes Arlington unique.”
The print anthology is still some months from publication, but for now, homebound poetry lovers can enjoy a 30-day literary preview of what’s to come. Young will be posting one poem from the collection daily on her website, on Twitter and on the Arlington County Poet Laureate Facebook page (follow it to receive a daily link to the poem du jour).
“Our Arlington poets are a tremendous resource in this difficult time; they remind us, even as we self-isolate, that Arlington is a physical, temporal, and sociocultural community in which we all share,” Young says.
April begins today, and the first verse, by Arlington resident Jess Stork Glicoes, references a number of local landmarks and beloved institutions. Give it a read.