8/30/18 Public Celebration of Life for Sam Cornish, Boston’s first Poet Laureate
1935-2018
On August 19th, our community lost one of its finest poets: Sam Cornish. He was the City of Boston’s first Poet Laureate (2008-2014). He touched and mentored so many. If you were ever lucky enough to meet him and/or hear him read his poetry, you know how much he loved to share his work and how much he loved hear and support the work of his fellow poets of all ages. The MALC steering committee sends his family and friends our deepest condolences.
There will be public celebration of Sam’s life on 08/30/18 at Brighton Allston Congregational Church, 404 Washington St. at 11 a.m. All are welcome.
From his website:
“He is the author of seven books of poetry, the most recent of which is Dead Beats (Ibbetson Street Press, 2011). In the past couple of years, his most prominent readings have been at the 2010 Boston Mayoral Inauguration, the Boston Athenaeum, the Strand Theatre and the University of Bologna, Italy. In February 2012, a theatre presentation of his book An Apron Full of Beans was presented at the Boston Latin Academy, Roxbury Community College and the Boston Public Library. He is the recipient of an NEA Award, the St. Botolph Society Foundation Award and the Somerville Arts/Ibbetson Press Lifetime Achievement Award as well as a nominee for an ALA Notable Book Award and a ForeWord Magazine Finalist, 2008.”
And from Poets.org:
“Sam Cornish was born in Baltimore in 1935. He was educated at Goddard College and Northwestern University. He authored ten collections of poetry, including Dead Beats (Ibbetson Street Press, 2011), An Apron Full of Beans: New and Selected Poems (CavanKerry, 2008), and Folks Like Me (Zoland Books, 1993). Cornish taught at Emerson College and other Massachusetts-based institutions, and also worked as an editor and reviewer.”
There has also been a gofundme page set up to cover his funeral and remaining medical expenses. Any amount donated is greatly appreciated.
Kathleen Bitetti
On behalf of the MALC Steering Committee