Fiscal Note
No expenditure is required.
Title
Recognizing and honoring Fabu Phillis Carter for her service to the City of Madison as Poet Laureate from the 21st day of January 2007 through the 16th of January 2012.
Body
Whereas, as Madison's third Poet Laureate, Fabu Phillis Carter, known professionally as Fabu, has served Madison with distinction; and
Whereas, she has increased the presence of poetry in Madison, creating greater visibility, responsibility, and accountability, while allowing us to perceive our experience with greater richness and complexity; and
Whereas, she has succeeded in her goal of placing poetry in greater spaces and unusual places; and
Whereas, as a multicultural ambassador, she has allowed us to see more clearly, the creative contributions of the many inhabitants of our City; she has invited us to savor the work of diverse communities in her tireless efforts to publish poetry in a wide variety of Madison-based media: Madison Magazine, The Capital City Hues, The Madison Times, Asian Wisconsinzine, and La Communidad; and
Whereas, Fabu's poetry is located in the Atrium entrance of the Park Villager Mall, inside the South Madison Library and on the sidewalk on Williamson Street in front of the Weary Traveler; and
Whereas, she helped to initiate the Bus Lines Program, a competition for Madison Area High School Students, that has resulted in the publication of 27 poems on placards on Metro Transit buses, and thereby enhanced the rides of thousands of public transit passengers; and
Whereas, in 2010, Fabu was a key figure in organizing Madison's Mary Lou Williams Centennial Celebration; in her work Fabu helped to create links between academe and the community, scholars and artists, young and old, in order to build awareness of Mary Lou Williams' unique Jazz genius; and
Whereas, during her tenure as Poet Laureate she published three volumes of poetry; and
Whereas, in her extraordinary work with school children she gives the gift of her time, care, and attention, as well as gifting each school with her published work Poems, Dreams and Roses (Madison Arts Commission and the MG&E Foundation, 2009); and
Whereas, as a citizen of the world, she links America and Kenya, in her volume In Our Own Tongues (the University of Nairobi Press, 2010) - a book about three generations of African American women; and
Whereas, Fabu has drawn our attention to the stories of the Black Community in Madison, in her readings as well as in her published writing, Journey to Wisconsin: African American Life in Haiku (Parallel Press, 2011); and
Whereas, she also worked to create a new, artistic vision for our City by serving on the Cultural Plan Steering Committee, reminding all of us to increase access and inclusivity; and
Whereas, Fabu has enriched the institution that is our City's Poet Laureateship in ways that are inestimable and invaluable.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Madison do hereby commend, honor, and express gratitude and appreciation to Fabu Phillis Carter for her dedicated volunteer service to the City of Madison as our third Poet Laureate.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be presented to Fabu Phillis Carter as a symbol of the City of Madison's appreciation for her excellent service to the City and its citizens.