Dutchess appoints Ruth Danon to honorary post
Dutchess County announced on Tuesday (March 25) that it has named Beacon resident Ruth Danon as its 2025 poet laureate to promote the genre through readings and workshops.
“In all my work, whether writing, teaching or curating, my desire has been and will continue to be the creation of community,” said Danon in a statement. “We cannot allow ourselves to feel alone or powerless. Writing and performing poetry helps us connect to one another and to the world; it also opens avenues to inner experience — so important to reclaim in a world dominated by social media and its many falsehoods and distractions.
“Poetry asks us to pay attention, and when people pay attention, positive changes can occur,” said Danon, who has published four collections of her work, including Turn Up the Heat in 2023. She also taught writing for 23 years at New York University’s School of Professional Studies.
The poet laureate program, launched in 2016 by then-County Executive Marc Molinaro, is administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.
