Personalized Poetry for the Holidays

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – A UP man is taking personal gift giving to a whole new level. Literally.

WZMQ’S Michelle Duder explains how you can send someone a personalized poem.

Two-time Poet Laureate Marty Achatz is doing something unique to spread the love of poetry this holiday season. Though not entirely unexpected. He’s writing poetry.

Achatz, “Give me a subject that you want me to write poem on and just a few details about it and I will write you an original poem and I will mail it to you and you should have it in time for the holidays.”

What makes this gift extra special is that all the money from the personalized poems goes right back to the upper peninsula poet laureate foundation…The group in charge with finding the next Poet Laureate…

Achatz says keeping the foundation funded has been the biggest challenge and while this new endeavor helps keep the lights on one line at a time…The poetry itself has been remarkably easy.

Achatz, “I’ve not been stumped yet I am not saying I will never be stumped. One of the most interesting that I just wrote, the person gave me five words and said I don’t care what the poem is about but you have to use these five words in the poem.”

Achatz now serves as the vice president of the UP Poet Laureate Foundation and knows first-hand the challenges of what he says is an under-funded role.

Achatz says “To help the UP Poet Laureate, whoever that is going to be, the next one be able to travel and do things and spread the poetry throughout the entire UP.”

And he’s doing just that…Each new poem gets the foundation one step closer to its budget…And everyone closer to poetry.

https://uppoetlaureate.org/gift-of-poetry/
https://uppoetlaureate.org/u-p-poet-laureate-application/