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For the Love of Poetry, and Branford: Inaugural Poet Laureate Judith K. Liebmann

For the love of poetry, and of her hometown of Branford, accomplished poet and educator Judith K. Liebmann has exciting plans for her new role as Branford’s inaugural Poet Laureate. Judith hopes to bring poetry to life in her community and help connect residents of all ages to the communication that lies within this literary art form.

Judith’s selection as Branford’s first Poet Laureate was jointly announced last week by the Town of Branford, in cooperation with the trustees of the Blackstone Library. The full press release can be viewed at Zip06.com.

Plans to establish Branford’s new office of Poet Laureate, a volunteer position, were announced in 2023, when applications opened for candidates. Judith learned of the office from an acquaintance who forwarded her the application and mission statement.

“The mission statement coincided very much with my interest, beyond writing the poetry, in trying to get poetry more accepted as a normal thing to read,” says Judith. “I thought that the mission statement and the whole application was very intriguing and very professional, so I sent in an application.”

Next, Judith interviewed with members of the selection committee: Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance president Frank Carrano; Blackstone Library trustee Chad Edgar; Katy McNicol, director of the Blackstone Library; Laureen Mutuski of the Branford High School English Department; and Alice Pentz, director of the Willoughby Wallace Library.

Judith didn’t hesitate to share the passion that she wanted to infuse into the role.

“I warned them!” she says, laughing. “I was quite open about the high level of my energy that would be involved. I already had a lot of ideas that had percolated through my experiences of teaching and spreading poetry and doing workshops. And they were apparently open to that.”

Judith earned her Ph.D. in Literature from Yale University and taught at Yale for a number of years, becoming its director of the writing program at the Center for Independent Study. Additionally, Judith is a fellow of Davenport College at Yale and served two terms on the Board of Governors of the Yale Alumni Association.

A Branford resident of over 30 years, Judith has also served her community on boards of the Wightwood School, BCTV, and the historic Branford Center Cemetery. Working in cooperation with Branford Public Works, Branford Land Trust, and the Pine Orchard Association, Judith has also designed landscaping for several “pocket parks,” including the Triangle Park in Pine Orchard.

Accolades for this remarkable poet include a Fulbright Fellowship, a Germanistic Society of America Grant, a German Academic Exchange Grant, and a grant from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts.

A joint press release issued by the Town of Branford and Blackstone Library Trustees on Jan. 15 describes the committee’s enthusiasm for Judith’s decades of experience writing, publishing, teaching, and sharing poetry, in addition to her plans to dedicate her three-year appointment to bringing poetry to Branford residents through workshops, lectures, readings, and mixed media events.

Judith feels equally enthusiastic about the support of the committee, trustees, and the town, as well as the many offers of collaboration coming in from Branford’s libraries, other departments, and agencies.

“I have been enormously impressed by how helpful and enthusiastic everyone is,” she says. “They’re open to all kinds of things.”

Judith already has a working list of poetry-based Branford events stretching into June. The first is her inaugural reception set for Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3:30 p.m. in the Reading Room at the Blackstone Library.

On Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m., Judith will host “Poems of Love,” a Valentine’s Day celebration with readings by local poets at the Blackstone Library. It won’t be your grandmother’s poetry reading, Judith shares.

“We’re planning to have a curated open mic, and we’re hoping for music,” Judith says. “There will be a free rose for everyone for their loved one and cookies that are going to be made by the Culinary Department at the high school.”

The Branford Parks and Recreation Department and the Blackstone Library are helping to fund the event.

“Everyone has just been enormously helpful,” says Judith.

The next night, Judith will present “A Short Jaunt Through the Long History of Poems of Love,” a lecture and reading set for Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Blackstone Library.

On Saturday, March 16, Judith will read from her newest collection of poems, Ekphrasis, which was published in December, 2023, by PreSSrappel out of New York City. The reading is set for 2 p.m. at the Blackstone Library.

Additionally, Judith will help host a (Inter)National Poetry Month Celebration at Blackstone on Tuesday, April 9 at 5:30 p.m. On Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m., she will provide a lecture and reading to the public, “Holocaust Remembrance Day: Poems in extremis.” On May 15, Judith is planning to host a poetry event entitled “Spring—A Season of Renewal.” In June, the public will be invited to gather on the grounds of the Blackstone Library for a Family Poetry Picnic and Fair.

While she will be very busy as Branford’s Poet Laureate, Judith also plans to continue her professional work. Her published pieces have also appeared in literary journals, The New York Times, Scientific American, and been anthologized in the short story collection, The Safe Deposit Box.

Judith hopes her contributions as Branford’s inaugural Poet Laureate will help to create a strong foundation for a vital service that will continue to enrich the community for many years to come.

“Being the first Poet Laureate, I have a sense that, in the three years of my tenure, I’m responsible for shaping how this is going to develop,” says Judith.

Helping others to access poetry is a joy for Judith—and it’s not hard to do, she says.

“I’ve done a lot of workshops, I’ve been resident in school systems, and you don’t need to have an intense, whole-year course. You just need to turn on a switch, so that they realize that this is a different way of communicating.” says Judith. “And I’ve found that works, even with very, very young children.”

Judith wants to help residents of all ages embrace poetry by reintroducing access to the form.

“I believe strongly that poetry is a natural expression for human beings -- and, somehow, after the toddler years of fascination with nursery rhymes and the childhood ability to read children’s books and face their worst terrors in them and use poetry in these books to overcome their childhood fears—somehow, we lose that,” Judith says. “I think we need to learn to open that doorway that circumvents the judgmental and the logical and allows images and music and rhythm to come into our souls and rise up from there. I’d like to expand everyone’s ability to allow themselves to be affected by poetry.”

A public reception celebrating the inauguration of the office of Branford Poet Laureate with Judith K. Liebmann will take place Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3:30 p.m. in the Reading Room at the James Blackstone Memorial Library at 758 Main Street. To contact the office of Branford Poet Laureate, email poetlaureate@branford-ct.gov.