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Meet Milford’s Newest Poet Laureate

Established in 2016 to elevate poetry within the Milford community, the individual who serves as the Milford Poet Laureate is an advocate for poetry, literature, and the arts and contributes to the City’s literary legacy through public readings and participation in civic events. Following in the footsteps of the city’s first Poet Laureate, Mick Theebs, Joan Kwan Glass was selected through a competitive process by a panel of literary experts, civic leaders, and educators. She will serve in this honorary position for four years.

The mother of three and poetry editor at the West Trestle Review, Glass has been a public school educator for the past 20 years. She’s been published in various journals, and her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize four times.

Glass found herself drawn to writing at an early age. “I wrote my first poem when I was six years old: a rhyming poem about George Washington in my Hello Kitty notebook,” she remembers. “I quickly fell in love with the work of Shel Silverstein as a child and still have some of his poems memorized.” This love for poetry remained with Glass wherever she went. From growing up in a suburb of Detroit, to summers spent visiting her family in South Korea, poetry proved itself the perfect instrument with which to process her emotions and understand her world. “I think I’ve always been drawn to writing; as an

COURTESY OF JOAN KWAN GLASS

Joan Kwan Glass is Milford’s second Poet Laureate, and hopes to draw on her experience as an educator to bring the art of poetry to a wider audience.

First Morning

The first school bus heaves itself around the corner, an immense groaning canary pitches its hips burdened, forward then flies. We are the first people and today is the first morning. Breathing in and out, trying to read each other’s eyes as there is no language yet. Maybe this ordinary courtyard of white stones and flowers is where we start again or this familiar brick pathway. Maybe it is every door opening in every schoolhouse, welcoming us in despite how screwed up the world can be. A teacher takes a child’s hand, and the child goes. Inside, maps wait to be opened. —Joan Kwan Glass

introvert and creative person, it allows me to externalize my deeply layered internal life.”

When discussing how her poetry has evolved over time, Glass explains that “Poetry is like everything in life; it changes as you change and as your world morphs. I have gone through years during which I write mostly about love, and others when everything I wrote revolved around being a new mother. In 2017 I lost two close family members unexpectedly, so since then, most of my poetry is about those losses and the grieving and recovery process. I’ve also been deeply influenced as I read, so the more that I read, the more honed my craft becomes.” Currently, Glass says that her poetry’s main themes include memory, grief, childhood, family, loss, healing, and recovery.

In addition to writing and performing poems at city-wide events, Glass said she aims to use poetry to help draw attention to local businesses, as well as work with schools and teachers. And she looks forward to driving more interest in the arts. “I’d be interested in collaborating with various organizations like the Milford Historical Society, the Marine Institute, the Milford Public Library, and the Milford Arts Council in order to curate art exhibits that promote poetry and visual arts. And when we come back together post-Covid, I would love to hold live readings and generative workshops.”

Poetry provides a personal and empathetic perspective to everyday events. Glass’s poem First Morning was written when schools began reopening following the state shutdown. Commenting on its importance, both throughout history and today, she notes, “Poetry has helped to sail ships, garner romance, mourn our warriors, and welcome each other home. I believe in the power of poetry and think everyone should read at least one poem a day! I try to read every single day and write as often as I can. It helps to keep me connected to joy and gratitude and gives me perspective no matter what is happening around me.”

—Sophia Avitable

Read more about the Milford Poet Laureate at JoanKwonGlass.com.

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