Glastonbury’s Poet Laureate

Beginning in 2015, the town’s Poet Laureate has served as an advocate for poetry and promoted the appreciation of and participation in poetry and literary arts activities among Glastonbury’s residents. Serving term of three (3) years, the poet is selected by a panel of local literary professionals and poets along with the Welles-Turner Memorial Library Board members.

Current Poet Laureate – Andrea Barton

Contact: gburypoetry2021@gmail.com

The town council officially appointed Andrea Barton to a three-year term that began in June 2021. An accomplished poet and teacher, her work has been published in The Labletter, The Cleave, Broken Publications (a journal for domestic violence survivors), Connecticut Bards Northwest Poetry Review, and We are Beat (the journal of the National Beat Poetry Foundation) among many others.

Andrea has deep roots in Glastonbury. Her ancestral home is the old Moseley Dairy on Main Street and she has relatives buried in the historic Green Cemetery on Hubbard St. Currently, she resides in Glastonbury with her daughter. Andrea teaches English, including Poetry and Creative Writing classes at RHAM high school in Hebron, and also serves as faculty adviser to the RHAM literary magazine and prepares students for the state and national Poetry Out Loud competition. In her position as Poet Laureate, Andrea will be an ambassador and activist for poetry in the community. Already she has been hard at work developing creative new ideas for promoting poetry to residents of all ages, hoping to find new ways to showcase poetry in town. In her view, poetry can be used to build bridges among individuals from all walks of life. “I want to pull the community together using poetry,” Andrea says. “I see the world through poetry, and think it’s exciting to help others do that too.” So be on the lookout for poetry in unexpected places!

How to become the next Poet Laureate

The application process for the Town’s next Poet Laureate will be posted here in early 2024.

Glastonbury Poet Laureate History

2021 - 2024 – Andrea Barton
2018 - 2021 – Dr. Michael F. Lepore
2015 - 2018 – Alexandra Sergio