Waxing Poetic in Tompkins County

By Desiree Holz '23, December 14, 2021

Christine Kitano named Tompkins County Poet Laureate.

Christine Kitano, associate professor of writing. (Photo submitted)

Christine Kitano, associate professor of writing at Ithaca College, could have found her place anywhere, but chose to plant her roots in Ithaca.

Kitano started at Ithaca College in 2014 after receiving her doctorate from Texas Tech University and knew immediately that the IC community is different from other campuses she’s taught at.

“When I first got here students all seemed the same to me, but the more time I spent here I recognized that the personality of the body of students here at IC are so interested in really becoming people,” Kitano said.

After working at Ithaca College for seven years and releasing two collections of poetry, Kitano was named Tompkins County poet laureate in early 2021. She is the tenth poet to be named in this position and is succeeding Melissa Tuckey, who served from 2019 to 2020.

“It’s an honor to be welcomed into the community in this way. I thought my life was at IC and everything I did was on campus, but this is a real community position, which feels important so I can do the work that I do not just at IC, but I can do it in the local community as well.”

Christine Kitano, associate professor of writing.

“It’s an honor to be welcomed into the community in this way,” Kitano said. “I thought my life was at IC and everything I did was on campus, but this is a real community position, which feels important so I can do the work that I do not just at IC, but I can do it in the local community as well.”

As poet laureate, Kitano has started a local poetry club to open up the floor monthly for writers and admirers of poetry in Tompkins County to get together and discuss, write or analyze new poetry. The club meets monthly on Sunday afternoons over Zoom and revolves around donated poetry anthologies.

“We read through the anthology then we talk through a poem and then we write for a little bit in response, then we share our work—it’s just this really casual, social way to get involved.” Kitano said.

The poetry club attracts people not just from Tompkins County, but across the country as the group meets on Zoom. All are welcome to join the club, but as of right now Kitano sees the club as a way for non-students to get involved.

“Mostly non-students have been participating which I think is really nice because students can take classes and come talk to me, they have ways to access poetry that once you graduate from college you may not have,” Kitano said.

Kitano’s poetry club will continue through the rest of 2021.