Past Lake County Poet Laureate Carolyn Wing Greenlee will be one of the judges selecting the new Poet Laureate for 2010. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY – Jan. 15, 2010 is the deadline for applying to be the next Lake County Poet Laureate, and one of the judges selecting the candidates will be Carolyn Wing Greenlee, Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006.

Asked what she is looking for in a candidate, she said she will be looking for someone who knows how to write poetry.

“First I'm looking for superbly crafted poetry – not journaling with line breaks,” she said. “I like compression, deft use of the sound and texture of words, well-wrought images and fresh insight.”

Greenlee also will be looking for a person who is comfortable speaking about challenging subjects in public.

“I want the poet to be able to present himself/herself well – not just read engagingly, but express ideas articulately and with depth,” she said.

Greenlee has published more than 12 books. Her most recent book is “A Gift of Dogs: Living with Blindness and Making Friends.”

Any Lake County resident can apply for the position of Poet Laureate, or nominate someone they think would do a good job.

Here is how to apply:

• Collect up to eight of your original poems (10 pages maximum);

• Ask another poet to write a letter of recommendation for you;

• Write a statement describing how you have served Lake County’s literary community in the past, and how you’d like to serve the community as Poet Laureate;

• If any of your poems have been published, list their titles, and the names of the publications and dates they were published.

Send five copies of each of these items in one package to Mary McMillan, P.O. Box 1236, Kelseyville 95451. Send your application before Jan. 15, 2010.

If you don’t want to apply for the position yourself, you may nominate someone. Just send a letter or email with the following information about the person you are nominating: the person’s contact information (name, address, phone number) and a short statement about why you are nominating them. Send this information in an email to Mary McMillan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or in a letter to the post office box above.

For more information, write an email or letter to Mary McMillan at one of the addresses above.