Poet Paul Szlosek receives Stanley Kunitz Medal in ceremony on Thursday

Worcester poet Paul Szlosek will receive the 2023 Stanley Kunitz Medal presented by the Worcester County Poetry Association during a ceremony from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm St.

The event is free and open to the public.

The Stanley Kunitz Medal originated with a bequest to the Worcester County Poetry Association from the estate of former Poet Laureate of the United States and Worcester native Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006).

Szlosek will be the ninth recipient of the medal, which is bestowed annually on a poet with a strong Worcester County connection "who best exemplifies Kunitz’s lifelong commitment to poetry by teaching poetry, mentoring poets, speaking poetry, publishing poetry, and supporting organizations which nurture poetry."

Also honored with nominations for the award this year were poets Rodger Martin and Sharon A. Harmon.

Szlosek's poems have been featured in regional, national and international print and online journals and anthologies and his poetry has been recognized with numerous awards and honorable mentions, including the Jacob Knight Award for Poetry in 2001.

He is a frequent workshop leader and participant and visiting poet at schools such as the Floral Street School in Shrewsbury, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Worcester State University, as well as the Peabody Essex Museum, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Worcester Art Museum.

He has conducted more than two dozen in-depth interviews with poets that appear in his monthly online poetry journal, which he compiled and edited in the form of transcripts of imaginary poetry readings called “The International Imaginarium For Word Verse.”

Szlosek served on the board of the Worcester County Poetry Association for more than a decade, and was the first editor of its occasional publication, The Issue.

He is a co-founder and co-host of The Poetorium reading and open mic series held at the starlite bar & gallery in Southbridge.

For more information, visit worcestercountypoetry.org.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Poet Paul Szlosek receives Stanley Kunitz Medal Thursday