A Dream Come True: Four Wakefield Poets Published

A+Dream+Come+True%3A+Four+Wakefield+Poets+Published

Words for the World: An Anthology of Arlington Young Poets responds “to a world struck by pandemic tragedy, inequality, and mental health crisis.” The book was created to give a space for young poets to express themselves. The “authors of Words for the World encourage the reader to believe in the future of our community” according to Arlington Poet Laureate Holly Karapetkova. This project was sponsored by the Academy of American Poets and Arlington Cultural Affairs and produced by Day Eight.

Four Wakefield Poets were published in this anthology: Tatiana Tham-Morrobel, Shoshana Ferguson, Edilawit Mergia, and Adrian Ulm. Congratulations, poets! Thank you for representing Wakefield in this Anthology.

Our young people are experiencing a mental health crisis, and poetry can offer hope and healing as well as community. The anthology seemed a perfect way to do this.

— Arlington Poet Laureate Holly Karapetkova

Celebrate the launch of the book at Arlington Central Library at 6 pm on Tuesday, June 13.

The Wakefield Chieftain spoke with Arlington Poet Laureate Holly Karapetkova about the anthology.

What made you want to put this anthology together, focused on student poetry?

As a teacher, I’ve been working with young adults for much of my life. Teaching poetry to young people is particularly exciting, as it empowers them with tools for self-expression and understanding that can help develop resilience, empathy and open-mindedness—all qualities that are increasingly essential in our high-tech society. 

When Amasa Maleski was appointed the inaugural Arlington Youth Laureate in 2020, they helped me see how much poetry is needed among the young people in our community and made me want to engage with this group in particular. I was also eager to give our young people an outlet to express their emotions in the wake of the pandemic.

Our young people are experiencing a mental health crisis, and poetry can offer hope and healing as well as community. The anthology seemed a perfect way to do this. 

As the Arlington Poet Laureate, what do you think has been your biggest impact on Poetry in the Arlington Community this year?

As Poet Laureate, I have gotten to participate in a number of exciting programs, from Moving Words (an annual program that places poems by local poets on Northern Virginia buses) to the opening of the new Courthouse Library. I think all of these programs have an impact on our community, bringing poetry to people in the community who might not otherwise be exposed to it.

However, the biggest impact I hope to have this year is definitely through the anthology. It features 38 amazing Arlington high school poets and gives so many young writers in our community a chance to be heard and to come together to celebrate poetry.

It’s definitely a dream come true for me!