AMESBURY — Lisa Phillips is turning the page after her term as Amesbury Poet Laureate recently came to an end.
Phillips’ journey to becoming poet laureate began in 2023 after she saw a social media post about the search for a new poet laureate in Amesbury.
At the time, Phillips was a recently published poet and she decided to attend a reading by former poet laureate, Ellie O’Leary to familiarize herself with the community.
After attending the reading, Phillips said she made the decision to throw her hat in the ring for the role.
“I was pretty new as a published poet. So, I was just beginning my journey of tapping into our community of poets. And, so as part of that I went to Ellie O’Leary’s poetry reading series that she hosted and introduced myself to her. And what I found there was this great community that I wanted to be a part of. And, I thought, I don’t have anything to lose by applying. So, I applied,” she said.
In 2024, she was selected to become Amesbury’s fourth poet laureate, and has since hosted numerous poetry readings in the community, wrote a poem for Mayor Kassandra Gove’s 2024 inauguration and more.
“On behalf of our city, I extend my deepest thanks to our poet laureate, Lisa Usani Phillips. Through her poetry, she gave voice to our city at a variety of events, adding creativity and inspiration to community gatherings. I know her poetry will be cherished by all those who received personal tributes from her and appreciate her passion for the power of words,” Gove said, in a statement.
Phillips said hosting poetry readings was a highlight of her time as laureate.
“I think the reading series was my favorite, because it almost felt like going to church, just being in a community with other poets. And, the fact that we were able to bring in both emerging and established poets as readers, whether they were the features or at the open mic. There’s just this real sense of being in a community with other poets. It was just really meaningful to me,” she said.
Phillips also said taking on the role of poet laureate allowed her to become more ingrained in her community.
“I felt driven to network, to go to other poetry events in the area as I was scoping out people I’d like to invite to the series. It put me in touch with Amesbury poets that I might not have been in touch with. So, that was really exciting,” she said.
Ann Johnson, Amesbury Cultural Council co-chair, said Phillips will be missed and praised her work as laureate.
“It’s sad. We’re sad to see her go. She made some pretty significant changes to the poet laureate program. She was just a very calm, open, communicative poet laureate,” she said.
While her time as Amesbury’s poetry ambassador is coming to an end, Phillips said she still plans to be an active part of the community.
“The things that I will miss, I’m looking forward to continuing even though I’m not officially the laureate. So, just staying connected to other poets in the area, in Amesbury, and the North Shore is something I intend to do,” she said.
Phillips will be passing the torch to Bryan Riley who was recently announced as the fifth Amesbury Poet Laureate.