Fiscal Note
No City appropriation required.
Title
Recognizing the dedicated service and outstanding achievements of Angela Trudell Vasquez during her tenure as Madison Poet Laureate.
Body
WHEREAS, Angela (Angie) Trudell Vasquez has served as Poet Laureate for the City of Madison since January 21, 2020, and is the City's first Latinx woman poet laureate; and
WHEREAS, shortly after she read her first poem at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at Overture Center’s Capitol theater on Monday, January 20, 2020, the world went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic; and
WHEREAS, Angie immediately transitioned all the Poet Laureate programs to a virtual format, drawing attendance from national poets and audiences, thus showcasing Madison’s strong poetry community; and
WHEREAS, she stewarded the Bus Lines Program, in collaboration with Metro Transit and Edgewood College, organizing and hosting receptions for the selected poets at Pinney Library; and
WHEREAS, as Poet Laureate she started the state’s first Youth Poet Laureate program in Madison; and,
WHEREAS, as Poet Laureate she mentored the Youth Poet Laureate along with a cohort of teen poets and found significant opportunities for them to share their poetry publicly; and
WHEREAS, she contributed poems to the Sidewalk Poetry Program on Atwood Avenue alongside the first Madison Youth Poet laureate, Madeleine Bohn; and
WHEREAS, she completed numerous interviews, readings, and appearances to maintain the high public profile of the position; and
WHEREAS, she serves as the chair of the Wisconsin State Poet Laureate Commission, representing Madison in this statewide forum, and supporting the role of the Wisconsin Poet Laureate; and
WHEREAS, she raised funds to increase the John Tuschen Poet Laureate Memorial Endowment Fund to help offset expenses related to this voluntary position;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and the Common Council of the City of Madison do hereby recognize the dedicated servi...
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