Sullivan County will inaugurate its sixth poet laureate on May 16.
Kim Thai was selected as the 2026-28 poet laureate by the Sullivan County Poet Laureate Project. The funding for the two-year appointment was secured by former Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther.
“As Poet Laureate,” Thai said in a statement, “it would be no greater gift to use this beautiful form as a way to awaken, delight, empower and heal those around our county who might not believe they have a story worth telling or a voice worth speaking — to create and cultivate spaces across Sullivan County where poetry is lived and shared.”
What does a poet laureate do?
According to the Sullivan County Poet Laureate Steering Committee, the stipend-paid position of the laureate, offered to a county resident, is an ambassadorship with a mission to encourage the reading and writing of poetry among county residents of all ages.
The laureate’s tenure may involve developing programming in partnerships with libraries and county schools for K-12 students and conducting workshops and classes via Zoom and in-person for adults, including mental health workers and veterans. The appointee offers public readings of their original work, hosts the Sullivan Youth Poetry Festival and open mic readings throughout the county and posts readings through social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.
This cycle, the judging panel considered nine applicants for the position who submitted bodies of poetry work with at least one poem inhabiting the “spirit of Sullivan County.” Three finalists were interviewed in person before the final selection.
Who is the new poet laureate?
Thai brings almost two decades of storytelling experience in journalism, documentary and creative media with an Emmy Award and publications for The Associated Press, USA TODAY, FORTUNE, Discovery Channel and MTV.
“I don’t necessarily consider myself a capital-P poet,” Thai said in a May 13 phone interview, “but I think anyone can write poetry. And I think that poetry is really just like an expression of the truth of who we are. And we don’t have to worry about like line breaks or commas or anything like that, right? It’s much deeper than that.”
Thai is the daughter of Vietnam War refugees. She identifies as a queer woman and is a student of the Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Buddhist tradition, maintaining a mindfulness and healing practice, and offering workshops and retreats.
Envisioning her journey as a poet laureate, Thai said she liked the idea of starting the monthly open mics with music to facilitate creativity and expression while keeping poetry as the anchor.
Thai aims to create vehicles for literary citizenship and spaces to feel heard for youth, families and adults, and “for just generally anyone in our area who might not feel like they have a story that is worth telling.”
She invited residents and local business owners with ideas for youth development to propose suggestions and collaborations through scpoetlaureate@gmail.com and join the initiatives on social media.
What advice does the outgoing poet laureate have?
The outgoing poet laureate, Kevin Scott Graham, will attend the inauguration ceremony for Thai. Though he was not part of the selection process for the next cycle, he was delighted that Thai had been chosen. He said it was hard to give any advice because he felt Thai was already well suited for the position due to her writing form, her event and workshop experience and her mindfulness practice; she was ready to hit the ground running.
“I think just staying humble and remembering that it’s a community reach-out situation,” Graham said, “and enjoying that process.”
During his time as the 2024-26 poet laureate, Graham’s Zoom workshop students ranged in age from their twenties into their eighties. He recalled this as the most memorable activity as the free writing workshop also served as a close support group for creativity in general.
Where is the ceremony?
The inaugural ceremony will be held at the outdoor stage at 10:30 a.m. May 16 at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Library at 479 Broadway in Monticello, where Thai is scheduled to read original poetry inspired by Sullivan County. In the case of rain, the event will be held indoors.
The public is invited to attend.
For more information, call the Fallsburg Public Library at 845-436-6067.
The Poet Laureate Project is administered by the Sullivan Public Library Alliance in collaboration with other libraries and individual donors.
Contact reporter Vandana Saras at vsaras@usatodayco.com and @orangecountynyreporter on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Meet Kim Thai, Sullivan County’s new poet laureate
Reporting by Vandana Saras, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
