Poetry for People Who Hate Poetry

Clevelander Dave Lucas became the Ohio Poet Laureate in January 2018. Lucas succeeds Dr. Amit Majmudar of Columbus, the state's first poet laureate after Governor Kasich created the position in 2014.

As poet laureate, part of Lucas' mission is to advocate for a broadening of our understanding of poetry, so we might come to see its presence in the everyday—in slang, jargon, song lyrics, our own emails, and maybe even our shopping lists. Maybe that last one is a stretch. But, during his two-year term, he will traverse the state encouraging Ohioans to read, write, and experience poetry.

The co-founder of the successful writers’ events Brews + Prose, Lucas will talk about why poetry matters, how it makes us human, and even if you’re not convinced of those first two, how it can at least be fun.