New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary
Inspiring Tomorrow’s Writers The North Country Young Writers’ Festival debuts this month BY ANNA-KATE MUNSEY
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lexandria Peary calls being the New Hampshire poet laureate “the honor of my lifetime.” But it’s more than just an honor and a title — it’s a chance to effect real change in an area of the state that is too often underserved. The inaugural North Country Young Writers’ Festival, a two-day event happening virtually May 14-15, will bring together award-winning professional writers, passionate graduate and undergraduate student leaders, accomplished student poets and bright young writers from across the state for a virtual writing festival. It’s all free for New Hampshire residents. 38
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In collaboration with White Mountains Community College and a variety of partners, Peary has spent months organizing writing workshops, games and activities and engaging opportunities for youth poet laureates and special guests — including published authors and a screenwriter. Originally envisioned to take place in person, Peary was forced to make it virtual due to COVID-19 safety precautions. Peary is an international leader and expert in mindfulness and creative writing. She has hosted a number of impactful events and workshops on these subjects. A prolific author, Peary has written seven books, in-
cluding poetry, creative writing and scholarly writing guides. As poet laureate, she led several initiatives, including developing a writing program for youngNew Hampshire opiate survivors, a series of mindful-writing workshops and, of course, the upcoming conference intended to inspire and teach young writers. Peary’s goal was to reach 7th-12th graders in the North Country, specifically in Coös County and surrounding regions. Before the pandemic put a halt to in-person events, the festival would have taken place at the White Mountains Community College. Though the intent is to focus on students in the North Country, teens from all parts of the state are welcome to register. Everything about the event was designed with youth in mind, with input from students of all ages. From the event’s logo, designed by Jocelyn Paradis, a high school student from Gorham, to the various creative writing workshops hosted by college and graduate student interns, young minds and writers are the inspiration and backbone of the festival. Peary drew on her own childhood growing up in rural Maine to create opportunities for the rural communities in New Hampshire. “I’m just trying to make a difference,” she says. “[My parents] gave me the best they could; they really did a great job. However, there wasn’t much in terms of writing opportunities, and I was just lucky for whatever anybody handed me. I just grabbed it and I’m so lucky that I did, but I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a matter of luck for other people, that they could actually have more opportunities.” Peary has built a network of talented, creative and passionate individuals to assist both in her initiatives as poet laureate and with the festival. The event begins Friday with opening remarks, readings from the New Hampshire youth poet laureates, and a livestream performance by Loading Dock. Saturday is a full day of events (see more details in the sidebar on page 39). In addition to the workshops, there will be activities such as writing games with prizes, a marathon poem written over the course of the festival and the “Submit-a-thon” — a marathon creative writing submission event,
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