Colorado is punctuated with poet laureates.
Although the state recently and tragically lost state poet laureate Andrea Gibson to ovarian cancer, there are at least nine other poet laureates in residence in cities and counties across the state.
Adams County is the most recent to launch a poet laureate program, inaugurating its first laureate — Kerrie Joy — in 2023.
Joy, now at the end of her two-year residency, will host a capstone open mic event at Anythink Library Wright Farms in Thornton on Saturday.
The event features immersive art, interactive stations, treats, a DJ, and poetry from Suzi Q. Smith, Hakeem Furious and, of course, Kerrie Joy.
At the end of the evening, Joy will pass the torch to the county’s new, yet-to-be-announced, poet laureate.
Adams County’s poet laureate program: An origin story
Adams County is the only county in Colorado with a Cultural Arts Division.
The Division is funded by capital projects, through which 2 percent of the cost of all eligible county construction supports arts and culture initiatives.
“It was very important to us to be more than just sort of a traditional public art department or public art focus,” said Zoe Ocampo, cultural arts manager for Adams County.
That’s not to say the county doesn’t support traditional public art projects; it does. But Ocampo said the county also wanted to champion something that would foster conversation.
The idea has been many years in the making.
“To be honest, I pushed it off for a long time,” Ocampo said, “because I was like, if we're gonna do this, we have to do this well and it's gonna take a whole lot of energy.”
So the Cultural Arts Division found a worthy partner — the county library system.
“One of the things that Anythink Libraries does really well is we do a lot of arts and culture programming,” said Mark Fink, executive director of Anythink Libraries. “So connecting with poetry and expanding poetry's reach throughout the county was just a natural fit.”
Fink added that poetry is especially important in our current moment.
“With the complexity of things in the world right now, providing opportunities for people to reflect and think critically around things that they're hearing,” he said, “and information and messages that they're receiving, I think is really important.”
Meet Adams County’s inaugural poet laureate, Kerrie Joy
Kerrie Joy, a queer black poet, has been in Colorado for 10 years.
Joy grew up in Brooklyn, the daughter of Jamaican parents, and was raised in the church.
The religious climate was challenging for her, she said, as she was a young person trying to find and embrace her identity. But the church also introduced her to the beauty of language.
“The bible was my introduction to how beautiful words can be, and how they can tell really lovely stories,” Joy said.
Now, she works to make poetry accessible for others who are trying to find their voice.
“I had to fight for my own liberation. And in doing that — in doing that publicly — I feel like it gives others permission and understanding that they are allowed to, or they should, fight for their own liberation as well,” she said.
During her time as the Adams County poet laureate, she amplified an event that she started in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood, before her residency began.
The recurring event, called “Unstudied,” brings creatives together to explore the past, present, and future of poetry.
“It's been my goal throughout this process to create a space where art can blossom, and then people can blossom,” Joy said. “And we can find ways to remind ourselves and to remind the world that poetry is still very much so alive.”
Listen to a selection of Kerrie Joy’s poems
Editor's Note: Anythink Libraries is a financial supporter of CPR News. Financial supporters have no editorial influence.
