My Gig As Knoxville Poet Laureate
My Gig As Knoxville Poet Laureate
I was lucky! Within a few days of retiring from teaching at the University of Tennessee, I was named Knoxville Poet Laureate. So, even though I had been teaching at UT for 37 years, my transition was painless. Pre-pandemic, I was invited to speak at writing conferences and in public schools, at senior centers and Jewish community events. It was a joyful time. I met terrific people in my city, many of whom I would not have known otherwise.
My first “State of the City” poem took place at a banquet in downtown Knoxville.
The hall was filled. Mayor Madeline Rogero was there to introduce me and the other speakers. Lovely, friendly, delicious!
One of my favorite moments from my two-term tenure took place at the East Tennessee Freedom School, in July, 2019, when a fourth-grader named Dion raised his hand. “Yes?” “Can I be your agent?” he asked. “Sure, how much do you charge?” “Two cookies,” he said. “You’re hired!”
On January 4, 2019, I was honored to read a poem, “Violins of Hope,” at the opening of the Knoxville Symphony performance, Tennessee Theater. The concert, directed by Aram Demirjian, focused on violins rescued from the Holocaust. And as one whose German Jewish family was devastated by the Holocaust, it was all the more moving and healing for me to perform in this event. I felt as if I had been doing finger exercises all my life to prepare for this poem, this event. Here’s a link the city posted to this poem and to an art gallery event where I read in front of violins rescued from the Holocaust: https://www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/mayors_office/poet_laureate/marilyn_kallet/poems___poetry_readings/violins_of_hope__knoxville
My final “State of the City” poem took place in my backyard, 2020. My husband videoed my reading. The pandemic had hit and there was no more chance to do in-person events at that time.
Luckily, my husband is a great companion, video-maker, and poetry-lover! We learn, we grow, we adapt, and we love harder!
My 19th book, which is my eighth book of poems, Even When We Sleep, has resulted in some new invitations. I’m looking forward especially to performing in person at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, this coming October! It will such a joy to see my friends again and to meet new poetry buds, in a town that celebrates music, art and poetry!!
Marilyn Kallet
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Marilyn Kallet recently served two terms as Knoxville Poet Laureate, June 27, 2018-July 2020. She is the author of 19 books, including Even When We Sleep, 2022 and How Our Bodies Learned, 2018, poetry from Black Widow Press. She has translated Paul Eluard’s Last Love Poems and Benjamin Péret’s The Big Game, among others. Dr. Kallet is Professor Emerita at the University of Tennessee, where she taught for 37 years.
She also hosted poetry workshops and residencies for the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, in Auvillar, France, from 2009-2018. She has performed her poems across the United States as well as in France and Poland, as a guest of the U.S. Embassy’s “America Presents” program. Her poetry appeared recently in Still: The Journal of Appalachia, Plume and 101 Jewish Poems for the Third Millennium, among others. She is the author of two children’s books, Jack the Healing Cat and One For Each Night: Chanukah Tales and Recipes, Celtic Cat Publishing.
Category: On Writing
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