Marc Molinaro, Dutchess County executive. has reappointed Poughkeepsie resident Dr. Lucia Cherciu as the county”™s Poet Laureate for 2022. Cherciu will continue to bring poetry to the community through a series of reading events throughout the year.
Molinaro said, “The bold creativity of the artists within our Dutchess County arts community has helped to bolster our spirits, strengthen our relationships and build us all up during some of the most trying times we”™ve been through”¦.”
Cherciu was born in Romania and came to the United States in 1995. She received her Ph.D. in English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2000 with a dissertation on women and laughter titled “Ludicrous ”˜Scribbling Women: The Politics of Laughter and Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers.” She is a professor of English at SUNY/Dutchess Community College, where she has been working for 20 years.
Cherciu said, “The crisis in Ukraine has demonstrated to us how words can be used to show solidarity and work toward making peace. Poetry, story-telling and all the arts can contribute to changing the world, making us more empathetic and kind, so we can reach out to our neighbors and help them out”¦.”
Arts Mid-Hudson in Poughkeepsie manages the poet laureate selection process, which includes inviting a panel of literary professionals and community members to review nominations and make their recommendation.
“We are so appreciative of Dr. Lucia Cherciu, our Dutchess County poet Laureate for 2021 and are thrilled with the decision to reappoint her for another year in 2022,” said Alyson Pou, executive director for Arts Mid-Hudson.
