Vermont's New Poet Laureate, Sydney Lea

I'm overdue in sending up an online "Hurrah!" for Vermont's newest Poet Laureate, Sydney Lea. His appointment to the honor was announced by Governor Shumlin on Sept. 9, and there's a great ceremony planned for Nov. 4 at the Vermont State House.

Syd is a person of depth and integrity, and his polished yet intense poems, firmly grounded in northern New England's landscape of fierce weather, intriguing wildlife, and tradition-tending residents, have been among my favorites for years. I'm hoping his planned 2013 release from Four Way Books may come a bit sooner, as a welcome side effect of this announcement. (Martha, is it possible??)

Congratulations, Syd; may this be the year (or two, or more) that brings your work to many more readers, and may it blossom in more taut and tender poems for all of us to enjoy.