POETRY IN MOTION
Carrboro’s new poet laureate starts her two-year term By Kat i e MacKi nnon P h o to by Cat heri ne Lazorko, co u r tesy o f th e Town of Carrboro
Award-winning poet and writer Liza Wolff-Francis holds a master's in creative writing from Goddard College and has been featured in many national publications and exhibits. She was selected as Carrboro’s Poet Laureate in October and began her tenure in January. We asked Liza about her new role, her writing career and why poetry is important. When did you first start writing? I think I started writing back when I was probably like 10 or 12 in a Ramona Quimby diary that I got, and I just started kind of answering the questions that they give you. And then as I got to be a teenager, I started writing poetry and enjoying it a little more. Where do you like to write? I love to write with other people. I think that’s really fun, and it can be kind of interesting because you’re feeding off of their energy and they’re feeding off of yours. But writing is often a solitary thing. So I have space at home. I have an office that I write in. I have a screened porch that I love to sit on and write. Anywhere that I can just sit down and have my journal and my pen is great. Why is poetry valuable to the community? It’s a way to share your voice and also to witness and listen to other people’s voices in a way that helps us get to know [one another]. I think it brings people together. I think poetry is a real integral part of art, music, community, and it really is a way to not only inspire people, but to be inspired and to connect. I think it can promote literacy – really encouraging people not just to learn how to read but to be readers. To be wanting to read and wanting to contribute to the literary world. It can be an outlet for emotions, and it can be a way to share with others and for others to listen to you and be sharing with you as well.
24
chapelhillmagazine.com
January/February 2023