— from Julie Greene for Town of Friday Harbor —
San Juan County residents responded enthusiastically to the Friday Harbor Arts Commission’s call for submissions for its first Poetry Garden Contest. The Town received 271 poems composed by 89 adult and student poets. Those entering the contest were required to reside within the county but otherwise were limited only by the number of lines that will fit on the gardens’ engraved plaques.
Local judges have reviewed the entries and forwarded their selections to Washington State Poet Laureate and past Seattle Civic Poet, Claudia Castro Luna, who will make the final selections. Winning poems will be announced in February 2020. This spring, the poems will be engraved and installed on posts at four sites around town where they will be displayed for two years. These poems will also be published in a booklet to be distributed throughout the islands beginning this summer.
The Friday Harbor Arts Commission (FHAC) partnered with a committee of local citizens on this project. The FHAC was formed in November 2014 by the Town of Friday Harbor to advise the Town Council on the selection, placement, and maintenance of public art.
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