|
"Kevin has translated his life
experience into rhyme, rhythm and verse and has the wisdom to know
that poetry can have as much a place on the factory floor as it does
in the lecture hall," Blagojevich said in introducing Stein at the
Illinois State Library's Gwendolyn Brooks Building, which was named
earlier this year for the state's last poet laureate. "I know you'll
inspire young people to put pen to paper, to translate their
experiences and observations into writing as powerful as your own."
The governor said Stein, who serves as
the Caterpillar Professor of English at Bradley in Peoria, will
bring poetry into the daily lives of people throughout the state by
launching a poetry website aimed at encouraging students to become
authors; hosting a monthly radio show devoted to Illinois poets;
coordinating statewide poetry competitions among primary, middle and
high schools; and serving as an inspiration and teacher.
"We will entrust Kevin to be the
caretaker of our literary past," Blagojevich said. "We'll also ask
him to cultivate our literary future."
The distinguished position of "Illinois
Poet Laureate" was created in 1936, and three individuals previously
have held the position -- Howard B. Austin, 1936-1962; Carl
Sandburg, 1962-1967; and Gwendolyn Brooks, 1968-2000. The post has
been vacant since Brooks, a Chicago winner of the Pulitzer Prize
winner for poetry, died in December 2000.
Under the governor's revised guidelines
for poet laureate, what was once a lifetime appointment will now be
a four-year renewable term. Other requirements include that the poet
laureate be an
Illinois citizen and a distinguished
poet, promote literature and the arts throughout the state, and
provide at least four public readings each year during his term.
Stein was recommended to the governor
from 26 nominations submitted to a selection committee formed in
June and chaired by first lady Patti Blagojevich.
"I'd like to extend my appreciation to
Governor and first lady Blagojevich for supporting the art of
poetry," Stein said in accepting the position. "Doing so is neither
fashionable nor likely to earn wheelbarrows of votes, but it is the
right thing to do for our state. I applaud them for their commitment
to the arts. Thank you, also, to Bradley University for supporting
my nomination and to my family for standing with me along the way."
Besides the various duties outlined by
Blagojevich, Stein said that as poet laureate he will also add to
the more than 130 poems he already has authored. "For me, it's as
necessary as bread or breath," he said. "To be true to myself and to
this position, I must remain devoted to writing poems."
[to top of second column in this
article] |
The governor said Stein's poems are
uniquely Illinois, mix satire and stoicism, and provide narratives
of hard work and hard knocks.
"In this land of industrial might, his
words capture the incandescent sparks of 'machines in heat' and the
'yawning and clanging' of people at work," Blagojevich said. "In
this land of sprawling plains, this poet's verse echoes the
arresting, bone-penetrating power of a January wind. But in the face
of these realities, his musings also warm a reader's heart with
lines about Miles Davis and the 'shade of calm embodied by a thing
we lounge upon.'"
Stein has written five books of poetry,
three scholarly books of literary criticism and has received
numerous awards for his poetry, including the 1987 Frederick Brock
Prize awarded by the publication Poetry, the 1991 National Endowment
for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, the 1992 Devins Award for Poetry and
the 1998 Indiana Review Poetry Award. He also was nominated for the
Pulitzer Prize in 2001. In addition to his recognition for poetry,
Stein is beloved by his students at Bradley, having been voted as
Outstanding English Faculty Member four times and being selected as
the Bradley Faculty Member of the Year in 1989.
Besides Mrs. Blagojevich, others who
were part of the poet laureate selection committee were:
--Nora Blakely, daughter of the
previous poet laureate, Gwendolyn Brooks, and producing artistic
director at Chocolate Chips Theatre Company, Chicago.
--Mark Dempsey, Chicago library
commissioner.
--Henry Kisor, book review editor and
book critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.
--Laurence Lieberman, published poet,
professor of poetry at the University of Illinois and poetry editor
for the University Press.
--Shirley Madigan, chair of the
Illinois Arts Council.
--Joseph Parisi, former editor of
Poetry Magazine and a poet.
--Judy Valente, published poet, Public
Broadcasting Service national correspondent, and cultural and
religious reporter for WBEZ public radio.
--Jean
Wilkins, director of the Illinois State Library.
[News release
from the governor's office]
 |
