The Select Board unanimously approved the creation of a committee to select Swampscott’s first poet laureate.

“We do want to see that this is happening and that we are promoting the arts and facilitating the program,” Select Board Chair Katie Phelan said. 

A poet laureate is officially appointed by a government or institution with the expectation 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 United States poet laureate.

In Massachusetts, Regie Gibson was named the inaugural poet laureate for the Commonwealth in 2025. Many municipalities also have their own poets laureate such as J.D Scrimgeour who was appointed to the inaugural two-year term in 2025 in Salem as well as Michelle LaPoetica Richardson, who was appointed in April for a two-year term in Lynn.

Phelan said during Wednesday night’s meeting that she had spoken with the Board of Library Trustees about their support for the program.

“The library takes on a lot of programming and they felt like they could be part of this process but didn’t feel like they could be the only part of this process,” Phelan said. “The rationale for the Board of Library Trustees and the library staff asking it to come back to the Select Board is that this is a civic and cultural role representing the entire community and it’s not just a library function.”

The Board of Library Trustees had recommended that the Select Board puts together a committee 

The trustees recommended that the committee include one or two Select Board members, a library trustee or the library director, a representative from Swampscott schools, and one or two community members with an arts or cultural background.

“Their responsibilities of their scope would be to draft up some eligibility requirements, an application process, judging criteria and then to put forward the process and to recommend a candidate to the Select Board for appointment,” Phelan said. 

Stephen Iannaccone, who served as poet laureate in 2015, said at the meeting that supporters of the program “generally agree with the proposal developed by the library,” as it aligns with how other towns have implemented similar initiatives.

However, Iannaccone suggested that the committee is standing and has “functions past just the appointment and would have ongoing help for the poet laureate and also try to provide some art, cultural aspect to the community as well.”

Phelan supported Iannaccone’s suggestion to stagger terms “so we can rotate in members who still have a connection to what works.”

“We would eventually end up where everyone has a three year term, but it would stagger,” Phelan said.

The Select Board also agreed that rather than members being required to serve on the committee, a representative may be able to facilitate the process better if they have more of a passion for the work.

The proposed timeline includes drafting guidelines over the winter, opening the application process in late winter, and appointing a poet laureate by spring 2026, with summer programming to follow, Phelan said.

Phelan said the Board of Library Trustees recommended an annual stipend of $500 to $1,000 for the poet laureate. She added that it could potentially be possible that the Cultural Commission would be able to receive grant funding for the poet laureate position. Phelan also suggested that the money could come from a partnership with the Friends of the Swampscott Public Library. 

“I am looking forward to our 2026 poet laureate,” Phelan said.