Proposal would reimburse Maine's poet laureate
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
AUGUSTA — Students notice something different about Maine's poet laureate, Baron Wormser.
Maine Poet Laureate Baron Wormser talks about poetry with a Gardiner Area High School student at a workshop. click to enlarge
He's not Longfellow or Frost or Dickinson.
A student once explained it to him this way: "You're really different from everybody we study," the child said. "You're alive!
Wormser, a 54-year-old Hallowell resident, wants more people in Maine to know he's alive. He wants to play a more active role by traveling to schools and libraries to spread the word about poetry.
But he doesn't get paid to be the poet laureate, an honorary position created by the Legislature in 1995. So he asked Rep. Scott Cowger, D-Hallowell, to sponsor a bill that would set aside a few thousand dollars each year so the poet laureate could be reimbursed for time and travel.
"I think if the poet laureate can go to schools and bring cultural experiences to our kids, that's a very valuable thing to do," Cowger said.
As a member of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, Cowger is well aware of the state's pending $1 billion budget deficit. He said the bill asks for $5,000 and that he would be willing to settle for less if it would help the bill gain support.
Nonprofit groups would apply to the Maine Arts Commission for the funding that would reimburse the poet laureate. Wormser, who was appointed to the position by former Gov. Angus S. King Jr. in 2000, will hold the post until 2005.
Money not used from the fund would go back to the General Fund, according to the bill. The bill has been referred to the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.
Sen. Sharon Treat, D-Farmingdale, is a co-sponsor of the bill.
"Obviously, this is a difficult budget year, but if there's money to pay the poet laureate, who does work for us, even if it's a small amount, that's a good idea," she said.
Treat, the Senate Democratic Leader, said she enjoyed Wormser's poetry reading at Gov. John Baldacci's inaugural. The poem, "Building a House in the Woods, Maine, 1971" talks of the struggle and joy of building a house during mud season.
"That poem is a celebration of hard work," he said.
Wormser grew up in Baltimore and moved to Maine with his wife Janet more than 30 years ago. At his Hallowell home, Wormser composes his poetry long-hand on a legal pad in his study. He is working on a book of poetry that is scheduled to come out next year.
"Poetry isn't exactly foremost, shall we say, in people's minds," Wormser said. "Obviously a lot of communities in the state have never even hosted a poetry reading.
Wormser travels to different places in the state for readings or workshops. But he'd like to do more.
"Maine's a big state," he said. "It takes time to go there and come back.
Hearing poetry, as opposed to reading it, is key to understanding and enjoying the art, Wormser said. His mother read poetry to him as a child, which is a big part of why he became a poet.
Wormser was a high school librarian in Madison, Maine for 25 years and taught creative writing. He's taught poetry writing at the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of South Dakota and the Frost Place in Franconia, N.H.
He often works with teachers to help them find better ways to teach poetry.
"It's taught very poorly typically," he said. "So people develop all kinds of aversions and allergies to poetry.
Wormser is co-author of a book called "Teaching the Art of Poetry," and he helps organize an annual conference in New Hampshire that brings teachers and poets together.
One of his goals is getting people to think about poetry.
"It is being written," he said. "It's acceptable. And it turns out a lot of people actually like it when they get a chance to hear it.
Rep. Hannah Pingree, D-North Haven, is another member of the Appropriations Committee who signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill. She said other states pay the salaries of the poet laureate and that Maine reimburses people who serve on commissions.
Given the tight budget year, Pingree said she did not co-sponsor many bills with budget implications. The money set aside in this bill is a small amount, she said.
"It seemed reasonable to me," she said.
Susan M. Cover — 623-1056
scover@centralmaine.com