The Poet Laureate Selection Committee will open a call for submission between September 5 and 25. 

“The work they would make would become a staple for our town,” said Committee Member Joey Blood. “They’d be able to make all different sorts of poetry about things such as community events, the seashore, just basically anything about Swampscott and its community.”

Last fall, the Select Board approved the creation of the committee to select a poet laureate. A poet laureate is officially appointed by a government or institution and is expected to compose poetry for special occasions. The role dates back to 1315, when Albertino Mussato of Padua was named poet laureate. In more recent years, the title has been shared by the Poetry Foundation, which designates a Young People’s Poet Laureate, as well as the National Youth Poet Laureate and the United States Poet Laureate.

In Massachusetts, Regie Gibson was named the Commonwealth’s inaugural poet laureate in 2025. Many municipalities also have their own poets laureate, including J.D. Scrimgeour, who began a two-year term in Salem in 2025, and Michelle “LaPoetica” Richardson, appointed in April 2025 to a two-year term in Lynn.

Swampscott High School junior Blood; Stephen Iannaccone, a former poet laureate; Nancy Hewitt, Swampscott’s first poet laureate; Debbie Friedlander, a member of the Trustees of the Public Library; and Sami Lawler, a retired teacher who previously organized the Young Poet Laureate program, serve on Swampcott’s committee. 

“I’m personally excited to have someone elected as poet laureate for the town because of my understanding of the craft and the deep admiration I hold for poets and their work,” Blood said.

Applicants must submit three poems. There is no minimum line count for each poem, but they cannot be over 40 lines each. Each poem must have two copies submitted, with one including the author’s name and the other anonymous for judging. 

“I believe poetry is in its own way a beautiful way to describe the things we don’t see or the things we can sometimes take for granted,” Blood said.

Submit poems digitally to poetlaureate@swampscottma.gov or by hard copy to the Swampscott Public Library with the words “poet laureate” on the envelope. 

Appointments last for two years, with a possible extension for an additional year.