Wordsmiths History
Since the 1960s, Bucks County Community College’s Wordsmiths Reading Series has featured some of the m
ost distinguished and admired poets of our times. The list of poets from the 1960s includes Allen Ginsberg (with cushion and guitars), Galway Kinnell, William Stafford, Richard Hugo, Kenneth Koch, Nikki Giovanni, Carolyn Forché, Derek Walcott, Lucille Clifton, Denise Levertov, David Ignatow, Joseph Brodsky, Philip Levine, James Tate, Wendell Berry, Donald Hall, Jane Kenyon, Robert Bly, John Logan, Carol Muske-Dukes, Tess Gallagher, Maxine Kumin, and James Dickey. The 1970s featured, among others, Etheridge Knight, Gary Snyder, John Logan, Carolyn Kizer, Robert Creeley, Alan Dugan, Judith Sherwin, Adrienne Rich, and W. D. Snodgrass.
________________________________________
Cultural Significance
As the founder and leader of the renowned Wordsmiths series, Bucks County Community College has distinguished itself among Philadelphia-area colleges and universities, and has become the home of a vibrant community of writers, poetry lovers, and supporters of the arts. Wordsmiths readings are always widely attended. Guest writers are often paired with inspiring local ones, and the audience is typically made up of a lively mix of students, faculty, and the community at-large.
It's no wonder the Bucks County Poet Laureate program resides at Bucks County Community College, for this place has long been a haven for poetry. This is a place for readers and writers; speakers and audiences; those taking first steps on this path and those whose feet know each turn.
The Bucks County Poet Laureate program, reaching back to 1977, is the longest poet laureate program in the state. For over three decades of history, the Commissioners of Bucks County have supported the program, which is funded by the BCCC Foundation.
The open competition begins each summer with submissions due in September and the new Poet Laureate named in the fall.
- 44th Poet Laureate Flyer
- 2020 Poet Laureate Entry Form
- Former Poets Laureate
Bucks County High School Poet of the Year
Ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth-grade students who live in Bucks County and/or attend Bucks County high schools are eligible to compete for this honor, awarded each spring. In addition, an anthology will be made from each year's entries; if students wish to have their work considered for the anthology, they simply check off the appropriate box on the entry form.
- The deadline for the 2021 contest is March 19, 2021.
- 2021 Submission Form
Bucks County Poet Laureate Events and Publications
The current and former Bucks County Poet Laureates have recently formed an Advisory Council to promote poetry within the county. Watch this space for details of events and projects.
Fire Up the Poems
Just published! Fire Up the Poems: Poetry Prompts for Teachers, the new book published by the Poet Laureate Program of Bucks Country Community College, is out and being distributed gratis to Language Arts teachers throughout Bucks County.Written by working poets recognized for their art, this book of ready-to-use prompts gives teachers new, creative tools to encourage poetry writing in their classrooms. Senior and middle school students will learn from the examples presented by more than 20 local Poets Laureate.
Fire Up the Poems inspires creative expression, demonstrates the power of poetry to create change, and enables a wider understanding of ideas. Edited by Mary Jo LoBello Jerome, PL 2019, with Katherine Hahn Falk, PL 2017, Luray Gross, PL 2002, Laren McClung, PL 2016, and Ethel Rackin, Director of the PL Program at BCCC, the prompt anthology will eventually be made available online to a wider audience.