Norbert Krapf Named Poet Laureate at C.W. Post

Brookville, N.Y. -- Dr. Norbert Krapf, professor of English and a nationally regarded author of 12 volumes of poetry, has been appointed the first Poet Laureate for the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University by C.W. Post’s Provost Joseph Shenker. Dr. Krapf will hold the post for two years, effective September 2003.

A resident of Roslyn Heights, N.Y., Dr. Krapf’s duties include writing poems in honor of the C.W. Post Campus’s 50th anniversary celebration, which starts in September 2004. He will present the poems publicly at two major campus events: the annual All-campus Meeting in September 2004 and at commencement exercises on May 8, 2005. As part of his responsibilities, he will provide support for the C.W. Post Poetry Center, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2004, and present readings to the public both in the United States and abroad.

Last fall Dr. Krapf penned a poem, "Arboretum Naming Song," in honor of the new C.W. Post Community Arboretum, a collection of 100 magnificent trees scattered throughout 20 acres of the campus. Dr. Krapf has completed a new collection of poems, "Looking for God’s Country," now under consideration for publication, and is also working on another, "Children of the Morning Star: Love Poems."

Dr. Krapf said he sees this appointment as an ambassadorship which gives him the unique opportunity to promote poetry as an essential part of daily life and to encourage the art of writing in general to a wide range of audiences. "My goal is to build awareness of poetry as an artful form of expression that deepens our humanity and creates a sense of community," he said. "I am inspired by the lives of ordinary people whose stories are not often told in literature. I am a narrative poet who feels a responsibility to tell these stories, and doing my part to tell the story of C.W. Post for the occasion of our 50th anniversary fits in nicely with this sense of mission."

Dr. Krapf, director of the C.W. Post Poetry Center and professor of English since 1970, has written or edited 18 books since 1976, 12 of them collections of his poetry, including the recent title, "Bittersweet Along the Expressway." His most recently published collection, "The Country I Come From," was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He edited a book of writings by contemporary poets about William Cullen Bryant, nature poet and journalist who lived in Roslyn 1843-1878 and whose Cedarmere estate is now open to the public as a museum. Dr. Krapf has been a U.S. Exchange Teacher at West Oxon Technical College, England, and twice a Fulbright Professor of American Poetry in Germany, at the Universities of Freiburg and Erlangen/Nuremberg.

Libraries from across the country -- including the Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester and the Special Collections divisions at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, University of New Hampshire, University of San Diego, and Stanford University -- house many of Dr. Krapf’s literary papers and correspondence.

His honors include the David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Trustees Award for Scholarly Achievement from Long Island University (for both a single work and lifetime achievement), and the Lucille Medwick Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America.

Of the appointment, Provost Joseph Shenker said, "Dr. Krapf has produced and published a solid body of poetry that has been nationally recognized by his peers and has raised the profile of poetry. He is a mentor and model for future generations of poets and continually serves as an inspiration to our students."

For information, contact the C.W. Post Office of Public Relations at (516) 299-2334. For information about Dr. Krapf and his works, visit http://www.krapfpoetry.com. For information about the Poetry Center, visit http://www.cwpost.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/culture/poetry.html.