Snapshots in poetry: my journey as laureate
Since being appointed Poet Laureate of Richmond, I’ve been approached a lot about making appearances, showing up in schools, and representing the literary community–which is all very exciting and gratifying–but it’s important to me to remember that the poems are what the work is all about at heart. On this page I’ll be posting occasional poem-drafts about some aspect of the city–something going on or something I’ve experienced. They’ll go up in real time, as they’re written, so they’ll be fresh and maybe sometimes raw. It’s my commitment to me and to you to be a voice of and for the community, in whatever way I can.
Injunction
This past weekend I was invited to be a part of new Mayor Danny Avula’s inaugural Day of Service and Celebration. It was both humbling and thrilling to be able to share a poem which I wrote for the occasion–and which expresses some of my concerns under the current federal…
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The shape of water, Monday, January 6, 2025
As of this posting, around midnight on January 6, the City of Richmond is still under a boil advisory due to storm-related power failure impacting the city’s reservoir system. While some residents and locales are without water altogether, those who do still have running water are asked to use it…
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In a name
On December 9, a baby pygmy hippo was born in the Metro Richmond Zoo. The daughter of parents Iris and Corwin, the yet-to-be-named calf weighed in at a healthy 16 pounds on her first neonatal exam, and has continued to show signs of healthy growth and development. She is the…
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After Rilke, on the longest day
On June 20, the summer solstice, we took a River City Poets “field trip” for our monthly workshop…to write by the river. I was surprised by how many folks in our group had never visited the Pipeline walkway before. For me, it’s one of those uniquely Richmond places that I…
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To the woman with a gun, the singer with the cyanide eyes
Last week I had the privilege of attending “Envisioning a Livable Mayo Bridge,” a symposium focused on creating a community-informed design process for the soon-to-be-replaced Mayo Bridge connecting Manchester to Shockoe Bottom. This heavily trafficked historic bridge spans the iconic James River and links the city’s Downtown and Southside districts.…
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The First Two Weeks of April
The city was struck with violence especially during the first half of this month. Between March 31 and April 15, several shootings in Richmond left four public school students among the dead. During a River City Poets workshop on contemporary forms, we discussed how using formal poetry can help provide…
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Joanna Suzanne Lee 