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Photo by Richard Howard. Pictured is Lynne Viti, who has been appointed the first Westwood Poet Laureate, for a two-year term..
This Monday, Lynne Viti has just been named the first Westwood Poet Laureate, for a term through June 30, 2025, after Select Board on Monday, February 27, 2023 unanimously approved a search committee's recommendation for her appointment.
“I’m just thrilled. I’m over the moon,” said Dr. Viti at Monday's meeting. “I’m very excited and looking forward to continuing to do the poetry activities in the community that I have been doing, [and] also to fold in some new poets who are out there, who don’t even know they are poets.”
A lecturer emerita at Wellesley College whose work has appeared in over one hundred literary journals, Dr. Viti is also author of The Walk to Cefalù, that was published last year.
In Westwood Minute’s interview last year with search committee co-chair Maria Ryan, Ms. Ryan noted that the right candidate for Westwood’s Poet Laureate would be someone who writes poetry, is able to promote public awareness of poetry in the town, and has a body of published or unpublished work.
“We had very good candidates. We feel that we’ve made the very best choice in our poet laureate decision,” said Ms. Ryan at this Monday’s Select Board meeting.
Search committee Co-Chair Kieran Moriarty explained the selection of Dr. Viti to Select Board. He noted the excellence of her poetry and her “commitment to encouraging writing throughout the town.”
Along with numerous published works to her credit, Dr. Viti has actively promoted public awareness of poetry, especially among school-aged residents. As a recipient of a grant from Westwood Cultural Council and Massachusetts Cultural Council for the past two years, Dr. Viti has facilitated a Poets in the Schools program.
Under the cultural councils' grant for 2023, Dr. Viti’s is planning the following Poets in the Schools workshops for March and April:
- March 8, at Hanlon and Downey elementary schools: Dr. Jenn Bogard of Lesley University presents a poetry workshop to fourth grade classes at Hanlon and third and fifth grade classes at Downey
- March 14 & 16, at Thurston Middle School: After-school Poetry Café with poet and North Reading middle school teacher Terry House
- March 22, at Deerfield Elementary School: Dr. Jenn Bogard presents a poetry workshop to third grade classes;
- April 25, at Westwood Public Library: A Poetry Fest Reading from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with Westwood Tuesday Workshop Poets and an open mic is available for anyone interested.
- April 27, at Westwood High School: A Poetry Slam with a guest emcee, judges, and gift card prizes for three winners will be held.
To this list, Dr. Viti expects to add a visit by poet Jeffrey Harrison to Mr. Moriarity’s advanced creative writing class at Westwood High School.
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Separately from the cultural councils grant, the two-year position of Westwood Poet Laureate will be supported by a stipend of $500 from the Westwood Public Library’s 21st Century Fund.
Perhaps fittingly, one of Dr. Viti’s first jobs as Westwood Poet Laureate will be to reach out to teenagers aged 14 to 18 years-old, and encourage them to apply for the position of Westwood Teen Poet Laureate. Dr. Viti will serve as a mentor to the selected teen.
Dr. Viti’s experience includes teaching in New England high schools and at Boston University, Boston College, Olin College of Engineering, and Brandeis University.
A list of Dr. Viti’s accomplishments includes recognition in the WROR/Joe Gouveia Outermost Poetry Contest for four of the past five years, and recognition in the 2016 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest, the 2020 Fish Publishing Poetry Contest, the 2020 Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards, and the 2015 Glimmer Train Short Fiction Contest.
She received her B.A. in English from Barnard College, and her M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her Ph.D. in English and J.D. from Boston College, where she was a university fellow.
The Westwood Poet Laureate search committee consists of Co-Chair Maria Ryan, library trustee and Cultural Council member; Co-Chair Kieran Moriarty, Westwood High English teacher; Nancy Donahue, library trustee and Westwood Cultural Council member; Anne Innis, Cultural Council Chair; Elizabeth McGovern, Westwood Library Director; Kristy McKenney, Westwood Youth and Family Services; and Karen Michelson, poet and Friends of the Library member.
Thanks to Lynne Viti for sharing information for this article with Westwood Minute.
