Literary Programs

City of Alexandria Searches for Poet Laureate

The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts is in search of a Poet Laureate to promote an appreciation of poetry as an art form, promote creative writing and reading of literature, and promote literacy through poetry. The individual will serve as Poet Laureate for three years and receive a modest annual honorarium.

Individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else. Nominees must distinguish themselves in the field of poetry through the body of work created; be a resident of the City for a minimum of one year and maintain residency through the three-year term of service; must accept the Poet Laureate post as a ceremonial role, which includes presentations of work appropriate for all audiences; and be 18 years of age or older.

The online submission deadline for the Poet Laureate is January 10, 2025.

Poet Laureate Guidelines click here.

To submit an application click here.

For additional about the literary and Poet Laureate programs, visit the Office of the Arts website: alexandriava.gov/Arts or email the Poet Laureate: poet@alexandriava.gov.

Alexandria Poetry Contest - DASHing Words in Motion

The “DASHing Words in Motion” poetry contest will bring recognition to writers, promote an appreciation of poetry as an art form, and provide inspiration to individuals using the Alexandria Transit Company’s DASH Buses and Trolleys. The competition is to encourage quality writing by writers 16 years or older, who live, work or study in the City of Alexandria, VA. The “DASHing Words in Motion” program provides a venue for writers to display their poems. The participation in the “DASHing Words in Motion” is voluntary. Selected poets are not reimbursed for submittals or participation in the program.

The online submission deadline for DASHing Words in Motion is January 17, 2025. To submit poetry click here.

For more information about other Office of the Arts’ programs and services visit their website or email poet@alexandriava.gov.

Poet Laureate Program

Zeina Azzam, Poet Laureate, City of Alexandria, VA

The City of Alexandria has appointed Zeina Azzam as Alexandria’s new Poet Laureate. The first Arab American to hold the title, Azzam succeeds KaNikki Jakarta, whose three-year term ends in April 2022.

Azzam is a Palestinian American poet, writer, editor, and community activist. Her full-length poetry collection, Some Things Never Leave You, was published in 2023 by Tiger Bark Press. Her chapbook, Bayna Bayna, In-Between, was released in 2021 by The Poetry Box, which nominated one of her poems for the prestigious Pushcart Prize (she garnered another Pushcart nomination the following year for another poem). Azzam's poetry is also published in over sixty literary journals, edited volumes, anthologies, and art exhibition catalogs. An active member of the Poetry Society of Virginia, she regularly participates in local and national poetry readings.

Azzam’s professional career includes 27 years at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Georgetown University, where she was Director of Educational Outreach to K-12 teachers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She has also worked as an editor of academic and think-tank publications and serves as a mentor for We Are Not Numbers, a writing program for youth in Gaza. She holds an M.A. in Arabic literature from Georgetown University, an M.A. in sociology from George Mason University, and a B.A. in psychology from Vassar College. Visit: www.zeinaazzam.com

The Alexandria Poet Laureate program was reestablished in 2007, to promote appreciation of poetry as an art form; to encourage creative writing and reading of all forms of literature; and to promote literacy through poetry. Past incumbents have included Wendi Kaplan, Mary McElveen, Amy Young, Tori Lane Kovarik, Ryan Wojanowski, and KaNikki Jakarta.

Poetry readings:

50th Anniversary of the Torpedo Factory Art Center weekend-long celebrations starting on September’s 2nd Friday (9/13). To learn more about the festivities click here.

10th Anniversary of the Contraband and Freedmen's Cemetery Memorial - Candlelight Vigil, Program will include music, reflections, and wreath laying. Original poem by Zeina Azzam, scheduled for September 7, 8 p.m. FREE and Open to the Public. More information, click here.

Featured poetry "Something Spectacular," in Writing the Land: Virginia project 3-minute video. Two other original poems by Zeina Azzam ("Scenes from the Land" and "Turkey Tail Mushrooms on the Appalachian Trail") are published in the anthology, Writing the Land: Virginia, edited by Lis McLoughlin and published by NatureCulture LLC (for further information and to purchase: https://www.nature-culture.net/writing-the-land-virginia).

Articles written about or by Zeina Azzam:

"Zeina Azzam's 'Hedge against Hardship': A Conversation with the Poet Laureate of Alexandria, Virginia," by Renee Shea, in American Book Review, Volume 45, Number 1, Spring 2024.

Washington Post' Letter to the Editor for the "275th Commemorative Poem," scroll down to the letter titled "Laurel History."

"Alexandria Poet Laureate to Speak at United Nations on Friday," by Vernon Miles, in ALXnow, May 16, 2024.

"Alexandria's Poet Laureate, Whose Parents Fled Palestine, Creates Potent Art from the Devastation in Gaza," by Mariah Jallad, in InsideNoVa, April 13, 2024.

"Palestinian Cry from Gaza, 'Write My Name,' Goes Viral in Poem by Palestinian American," by John Mason, in Arab America, December 26, 2023.

"Celebrating Zeina Azzam's Some Things Never Leave You," by Ida Audeh, in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 6, 2023

"The Wonder of Words" in Alexandria Times, January 5, 2023

"The Power of Poetry" in Alexandria Times, November 18, 2022

“What Is a Poet Laureate?” in Alexandria Times, June 23, 2022

Poetry by Zeina Azzam:

This is Our Artful Home

Crossing to Sanctuary

We Are All Alexandria: The People's Poem

More Guns Than People

For the River, for Our City

Like the Trees in Alexandria

A Poem for Benjamin Thomas

To Bring Just Near -- A Poem for Joseph McCoy

The Earth Speaks: Honoring the Lives of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas

Alexandria’s DASHing Words in Motion - Poems selected, Poets Named

The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Transit Company have joined forces to host the 10th anniversary of Alexandria’s annual poetry contest “DASHing Words in Motion.” The annual contest has been celebrating poetry by writers 16 years or older who live, work or study in the City of Alexandria.

The winning poets were selected from 53 submissions. The poets are Nathan Brownback, Kacie Candela, Alex Carrigan, Meredith D’Amore, Peter Heimberg, Stephen Lally, Jonathan Lewis, and Jennifer Veech. Zeina Azzam, Poet Laureate’s poem, along with the eight winning poets, will have their poems displayed inside the DASH buses and trolleys for the 2024 National Poetry Month (April) and will remain up until August. 2024 DASHing Words in Motion Winning Poems. To learn more about the 2024 DASHing Words in Motion poets, click here to view their bios.

"DASHing Words in Motion" launched in 2014 and has highlighted our regions poets and creative writers and has placed poetry on dozens of Alexandria’s buses each April to celebrate National Poetry Month. To read the past winning poems scroll down on this page.

For more information about other Office of the Arts’ programs and services visit their website or email poet@alexandriava.gov.

"DASHing Words in Motion" Winning Poets and their poems:

Former Poet Laureate

KaNikki Jakarta
Poet Laureate 2019-2022

The Office of the Arts announces the appointment of KaNikki Jakarta as the new Poet Laureate. Ms. Jakarta replaces Wendi Kaplan whose term as Poet Laureate ends at the end of March.

Ms. Jakarta is an award-winning Performance Poet who has toured the US and UK performing poetry. KaNikki founded, facilitated, and/or hosted 15 presentations in the last 17 years ranging from open mics, award ceremonies, conferences, and workshops. With over 26 years of writing and almost 2 decades on the poetry scene, KaNikki has opened for Jill Scott, Raheem DaVaughn, and Lyfe Jennings. She has authored 3 works of fiction, 2 poetry collections, a poetry cd, and a memoir. She aims to utilize her Public Relations/Marketing Degree and love for the arts to promote creative writing, reading of literature, and literacy with poetry. KaNikki is an advocate for the art of poetry and believes that positive poetry can connect people from all walks of life. She brings to the role of poet laureate a passion to create platforms of safe spaces to highlight the talents of other artists. Ms. Jakarta writes and recites what she calls “real life fiction.” She says, “If you think something I say on the microphone may change your life; you’re probably right.”

The role of the City's Poet Laureate is to promote appreciation of poetry as an art form; to encourage creative writing and reading of all forms of literature; and to promote literacy through poetry. The Poet Laureate serves a three year term.

Poetry by KaNikki Jakarta:

Poet Laureate Program

In 2004, then Councilman Ludwig Gaines proposed the designation of a Poet Laureate for the City of Alexandria. In response, a steering committee of citizens and City staff was established to develop a protocol for selecting a Poet Laureate. On April 25, 2006, City Council received the proposal submitted by the steering committee. Following a public hearing on May 20, 2006, City Council unanimously approved the establishment of the Poet Laureate program.

Past Poet Laureates:

Wendi R. Kaplan, 2016-2019
Ryan Wojtanowski, 2016
Tori Lane Kovarik, 2013-2016
Amy Young, 2010-2013
Mary McElveen. 2007-2010
Jean Elliot, 1979-1999

For additional about the Poet Laureate and other literary programs, email the Poet Laureate at poet@alexandriava.gov, call Cheryl Anne Colton at 703.746.5565 or email cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact Cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.5565, Virginia Relay 711.