Former CWG President is appointed Poet Laureate of the City of Oak Ridge

It is with great joy that I, John C. Mannone, will officially serve a two-year term as Poet Laureate of the City of Oakridge beginning on March 9, 2026.

My vision as poet laureate is to promote poetry activity in the community; to express the beauty of nature with words; to show that, like laughter is good medicine, poetry can be a healing salve for loss and grief; and to dispel the myth that poetry is not accessible for the average person. These visions will be realized by my

• working with local schools: poetry in the classroom, coordinating with art students for an ekphrastic project
• judging a poetry contest for various grade categories (Middle School, 9^th/10^th grade, 11^th/12^th grade) in the second year of my tenure (perhaps in conjunction with the above)
• offering generative and craft workshops for the community (including nature writing via nature hikes and night sky observing), and a time for sharing e.g., in the library, arboretum, ORICL, Senior citizen center, Children’s Museum, Roane State Community College, etc., at least three times a year
• hosting open mics/slamfests so the public can share (twice per year, depending on interest)
• leading a gathering of past Oak Ridge poet laureates for a reading/panel discussion
• coordinating with comforting the senior citizen community in assisted living (e.g., The Glen and The Groves at Oak Ridge)