Expressions from Carlo L'Chelle Dawson

“It’s the air I breathe,

The rhythm of my stride.

The soundtrack to my life.”

I wrote this haiku to express poetry’s impact on my life because poetry saved my life, and I know the life-changing power of poetry.

It has been a life-long dream of mine to be a poet laureate since the age of 8 when I learned what a Poet Laureate was. It felt almost unobtainable due to only reading about National Poet Laureates. However, I am grateful that our city values poetry so much that we have a city-wide poet laureate. I don't take this role lightly. It still feels surreal, but I am so honored to carry the mantle of our previous poet laureates, to foster community through verse, and to provide a path for those who will follow.

Some of my goals are as follows:

• Offer opportunities for approved poets to write poems and & distribute approved poems across the city in hospitals, museums, prisons, senior centers, unhoused shelters, and more

• Incorporate the National Poetry Out Loud competition in grades 9-12 in partnership with Rock Hill Schools and a local theatre for the chance to compete at the state level. State winners will have an opportunity to compete at the National level.

•  Host an Annual City Poetry Walk, featuring poems from local poets. The poems will be posted in local businesses. Participants will read poetry in local restaurants.

• Hold city-wide Poem in the Pocket Day activities

• Partner with the Arts Council to showcase poetry and art

• Lead Poetry Across the Curriculum workshops for educators

• Work with local newspapers, broadcasts, & and magazines to have a featured poetry section

• Hold different poetry writing workshops in different Rock Hill neighborhoods

• Host youth and adult open mics and poetry readings in partnership with businesses, nonprofits, the library, and churches

• AND MORE!