We Who Rise from Saltwater, Let's Sing: Stanza I of a Heroic Crown for Madame Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
Read by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava
Hola, it’s 3:05 PM! Time to take a cafecito break!
Welcome to Poem in the Afternoon, read by a woman-identifying writer who is attending Miami Book Fair 2023. Enjoy this taste of poetry, sponsored by Miami Book Fair, 305 Cafecito (Miami’s Official Cafecito Break), and SWWIM, with Miami's favorite beverage—a cafecito, of course! We look forward to seeing you at the Fair.
Appearance at Miami Book Fair 2023: There will be a tribute to poet and professor Maureen Seaton, given by many poets connected to this heroic crown, on Sunday 11/19, 4:00 pm, Room 8303
Transcript of poem: I Salted stars, summer nocturne, scarlet ginger—the joy of breath so close to sea there's nothing to stop us from going under except the spell of promise, or tomorrow, binding like gold in the night heron's eye or the way sunrise startles at the most unexpected moment. A firefly flies out of fire, a seastar constellates the warm nocturnal sea, and we celebrate the magic of living among this whimsical wonder- land's undersea castles and rainbow skyscrapers. In the deep hours of the city's sleep, we start the slowdown, steal quiet among colossal palms and cosmic banyans, the blood moon lighting the cicadas' final serenade. If we had the chance to write our lives into any dream (or city) we would wake to find ourselves right here each time caught between the world and the bewitching blue sea. (Written by Maureen Seaton & Nicole Tallman)
Daniella Levine Cava was elected Miami-Dade County’s first-ever woman Mayor in November 2020. She enters the Mayor's office following a nearly 40-year career as a relentless advocate for South Florida families in public service and elected leadership. As Miami-Dade County’s Mayor, she oversees a metropolitan government with nearly 30,000 employees serving nearly 3 million residents, managing an annual budget of approximately $10 billion. A social worker, lawyer, and community activist, she was first elected in 2014, and re-elected in August 2018, to serve as the Miami-Dade County Commissioner representing District 8. Maureen Seaton was born in 1947 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and received an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College. Seaton’s debut book of poetry, The Sea Among the Cupboards (New Rivers, 1992), was awarded the Capricorn Poetry Prize and the Society of Midland Authors Award. She is the author of five additional poetry collections, including Cave of the Yellow Volkswagen (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2009); Little Ice Age (Invisible Cities Press, 2001), which was nominated for a National Book Award; and Furious Cooking (University of Iowa Press, 1996), winner of the Iowa Poetry Prize and the Lambda Literary Award. Seaton is also the author of Sex Talks to Girls (University of Wisconsin Press, 2008), winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir. Among her numerous honors and awards are the Iowa Poetry Prize, the Publishing Triangle’s Audre Lorde Award, two Pushcart Prizes, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council. Seaton taught at the University of Miami and was known her generous spirit and numerous collaborations with fellow poets and writers. She lived in Florida and Colorado until her death on August 26, 2023. Nicole Tallman is a poet, writer, and editor. Born and raised in Michigan, she lives in Miami and serves as the official Poetry Ambassador for Miami-Dade County, Editor of Redacted Books, Poetry and Interviews Editor for The Blue Mountain Review, and an Associate Editor for South Florida Poetry Journal. She is the author of three books: Something Kindred, Poems for the People, and FERSACE. She is also the creator and host of ELJ Editions/Redacted Books' Be Well Reading Series and the Lunchtime Poetry & Jazz Series at Miami-Dade County's Main Library. Find her on social media @natallman and nicoletallman.com.
This Heroic Crown (15 sonnets written by 28 Miami-Dade and neighboring poets) is a tribute to the first Madame Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and it is a tribute to the strength and resilience of Miami-Dade County. To read all of it, commissioned and edited by the late, beloved poet Maureen Seaton and current Miami-Dade Poetry Ambassador Nicole Tallman, see here: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/government/mayor/poetry/we-who-rise-from-saltwater-lets-sing.page
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