County Poet Laureate Inaugurated

Associate professor of writing Katharyn Machan reads one of her poems during her inauguration as Tompkins County's first poet laureate. Family, friends, colleagues, and members of the local arts community gathered at the Tompkins County Library for the October 1 ceremony. Machan has published more than 1,000 poems in journals and magazines, anthologies and textbooks, and her own collections. She maintains an active schedule as a story/dance artist and organizes the College's annual WomenSpeak program. Nominated by a fellow faculty member and selected by a county committee for the two-year ceremonial post, she is one of the few known poet laureates at the county level in the country.

Photo by Dave Maley