|
Everyone, even my some of my friends, thinks I'm a poet. And it's all the fault of the Wick Poetry Center.
In 2004, I stepped through the doors of the Wick Poetry Center and by 2006 I walked out, and in the time between, I moved a lot of boxes of books from one place to another, learned how to wrangle with a more than a few office difficulties, I was given the kind of trust and responsibilities that would help me find a place in the world beyond the University.
Maggie, David and my time at Wick taught me everything I needed to know to work both in and out of the arts. The connections and confidence I learned in the Wick Poetry Center helped me secure a volunteer position with Autumn House Press in Pittsburgh. There I helped found and edit Coal Hill Review, an online publication where established and emerging poets can be published side by side.
With my growing experience in arts management, I also began working full time for Quantum Theatre using many of the skills I learned back in grad school, while working with Wick.
Each time I was hired, my employer's greeted me by saying "Ah, here's the poet." (For the record, I don't write poetry.) I'm gainfully employed in the theater industry, I volunteer for a renowned poetry press, everyone thinks I'm a poet, and it's all Wick's fault.
|