Dawn Potter is the incoming Poet Laureate of Maine. She directs poetry and teaching programs at Monson Arts and offers online poetry classes via the Poetry Kitchen. For more than a decade she led poetry and teaching programs at the Frost Place, and she has served as a visiting writer at the Solstice MFA Program, Smith College, Endicott College, and many other institutions. When not teaching, she works as a manuscript consultant and as a freelance editor for literary and academic presses.
Dawn is the author or editor of ten books of prose and poetry--most recently, the poetry collection Calendar. She was a finalist for the National Poetry Series, and her memoir, Tracing Paradise: Two Years in Harmony with John Milton, won a Maine Literary Award in Nonfiction. Dawn has received grants and fellowships from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Writer's Center, and the Maine Arts Commission. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Beloit Poetry Journal, the Sewanee Review, the Threepenny Review, the Times Literary Supplement, and many other journals.
Dawn lives in Portland, Maine, with her husband, the photographer Thomas Birtwistle.
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Some details about my outreach work:
The bulk of my teaching centers around three different venues. One is the Monson Arts high school program, which offers a cohort of talented central Maine students the opportunity to participate in an intense, school-year-long studio experience on the campus of Monson Arts. The program has two branches: one for visual art, led by Alan Bray, Lydia Rose Spencer, and James Pullen; one for writing, led by me. All of the instructors are working artists who guide students into closer knowledge of what it means to make art the center of a life--helping them hone their craft, build bonds with other young artists from around the region, and become more confident about their future as makers. This is a studio experience, not an academic class. It is designed for students who are self-motivated, quirky, and curious, who may or may not be classically “good at school” but have the potential to thrive in a free-wheeling, focused, creative environment.
I also direct the annual Conference on Poetry & Learning at Monson Arts, a weeklong gathering of classroom teachers, arts educators, and poets that focuses on collaboration, cross-disciplinary experimentation, and collegial support.
Finally, I offer Zoom-based sessions on generating and revising poetry and poetry collections via the Poetry Kitchen. Links to these programs appear above.
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During my term as Maine Poet Laureate, I will not be able to consider new copyediting clients or manuscript consultations. Nor will I be able to write blurbs or judge contests. Thanks so much for your understanding.
