My Favorite Poem - High Tea

Presented in Partnership with the Howard County Poetry & Literature Society

Community leaders and students read their favorite poems at an elegant High Tea in the ballroom at Historic Oakland Manor as part of a national program entitled the “Favorite Poem Project.” Founded by Robert Pinsky, the 39th U.S. Poet Laureate, the Project is dedicated to celebrating, documenting and promoting poetry’s role in Americans’ lives, and has inspired hundreds of Favorite Poem readings in cities and towns across the country. Stanley Plumly, Maryland Poet Laureate, will close the reading with a talk entitled "The State of Poetry: Making Poetry Accessible."

Ticket includes Two-Course Afternoon Tea

BIOGRAPHIES

Stanley Plumly, the ninth Maryland Poet Laureate, has written nine books of poetry, a collection of essays, Argument & Song, and most recently a work of nonfiction, Posthumous Keats: A Personal Biography.

"Plumly remains as much a poet of elegy as he is a poet of nature," writes Publishers Weekly about Old Heart, a poetry collection. His work has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review  and The American Poetry Review. He has been awarded the Ingram-Merrill Foundation Award, the Rockefeller Foundation Award, the Rockefeller Foundation and Guggenheim Fellowships, and is a six-time Pushcart Prize winner. Mr. Plumly is the founder of the University of Maryland College Park's MFA in creative writing and director of its creative writing program.

Beverley Francis, President and CEO of the Columbia Foundation, oversees the continued growth of its $16 million endowment and the over $700,000 annual grant programs. Ms. Francis is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University holding BA and MA degrees in public relations and industrial counseling.

Richard Krieg, is President and CEO of The Horizon Foundation, the largest (single purpose) health philanthropy in the Mid-Atlantic region. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago where he specialized in health policy and administration.

Dr. Kate Hetherington, has served as President of Howard Community College, where she joined as vice president of student services in 1999. She holds a PhD from Widener University. In May 2009 Dr. Hetherington was named to The Daily Record's "Top 100 Women," an award program created to draw attention to the contributions being made by women throughout the state.

Ken Ulman, was sworn in as Howard County Executive on December 4, 2006, at the age of 32, making him the youngest County Executive ever elected in the State of Maryland.

Phil Nelson, Columbia Association President, holds a degree in Political Science from Fort Hays State University, and came to Columbia with 38 years of experience in management, finance, budgeting and strategic planning in city government.