Introducing Tacoma's Poet Laureate

William Kupinse, an associate professor at UPS, was recognized at the Billy Collins event on Friday as the Urban Grace Poet Laureate of Tacoma.

From the press release:

In his role as Poet Laureate, Kupinse will spend the next year promoting, performing, and teaching poetry on behalf of “Urban Grace – the Downtown Church”, a progressive ecumenical congregation in the heart of downtown Tacoma. Poetry teachings and workshops Kupinse will lead will help learners think anew about culture, spirituality, the language of sustainability, and the bond of urban community, all with his vivid imagination and unmistakable humor.

Urban Grace sponsored and funded the competition that led to Kupinse’s election, in a community partnership with the church’s neighbor, Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.

If you want to hear some of Kupinse’s poems, Urban Grace has a reading by him and the other 12 poet laureate candidates at Kings Books on April 24 at 7:00 pm. The suggested donation is new or gently used clothing, which will be distributed at Urban Grace’s Community Breakfast.