Rockland names first poet laurate
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- February
- 24
Dan Masterson, who has taught English at Rockland Community College for the past 45 years, was named Rockland’s first poet laureate today.
The announcement was made during a ceremony hosted by County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef and County Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell.
The county decided to create the unpaid position in honor of RCC’s 50th anniversary. Cornell said the college had sought to establish such a position and the timing made sense. 
As poet laureate, Masterson, who lives in Pearl River, will help determine the protocol to be used to establish future poet laureates, Cornell said. He will also conduct poetry readings, among possible other tasks, she said.
In speaking today, Vanderhoef recalled his old friend and mentor, Lester E. Rounds, himself a poet. In 1954, Rounds, then superintendent of the Ramapo Central School District, wrote a doctoral dissertation showing the need for a community college.
By the spring of 1959, RCC had taken shape, graduating its first class of 39 students in 1961.
Today, the college also has campuses in Spring Valley and Haverstraw, in addition to the main Ramapo campus. Enrollment is about 6,600 and a typical graduating class hovers around 1,200.
The photo shows, from left to right, Masterson, Cornell and Vanderhoef. It was provided by Vanderhoef’s office.
Read the press release on the event, verbatim, after the break.
Vanderhoef, Cornell name Pearl River resident as Rockland’s first Poet Laureate
New City, NY – Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef and Rockland County Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell today named Pearl River resident Dan Masterson as Rockland’s first Poet Laureate for 2009-2011.
For the past 45 years Masterson has been teaching English at Rockland Community College, including numerous poetry courses and workshops. The world-renowned poet has given more than one thousand poetry readings, lectures and seminars on the national poetry circuit.
“We are thrilled to welcome and congratulate Dan Masterson as Rockland’s first Poet Laureate,” said Vanderhoef. “With a love and passion for poetry, he has encouraged many and will continue to have a lasting impact on them.”
Masterson is the recipient of the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, two Pushcart Prizes, along with the Bullis, Borestone, and Fels national poetry prizes. He is the author of four published books, On Earth as It Is, Those Who Trespass, All Things, Seen and Unseen and World Without End. Masterson’s work has appeared in various publications including Esquire, The New Yorker and The London Magazine.
“Dan is a prize-winning poet whose poems have appeared in major publications on two continents. He has taught and mentored new generations of poets, authors and screenwriters. He is the perfect person to serve as Rockland’s first Poet Laureate,” said Cornell. “Not only will he bring distinction to this post, he will also remind us that poetry has the power to reveal the human condition in all its aspects. I am particularly pleased that he has agreed to establish a protocol for selection of future Poet Laureates for Rockland.”
Masterson is grateful to many poets who have inspired him including legendary Rockland poets Marya Zaturenska and Horace Gregory. He resides in Pearl River with his wife Janet where they welcome their two children and their families.
Dr. Cliff L. Wood, President, Rockland Community College, said, “The College is proud to have world-renowned poet Dan Masterson as a member of our faculty. He has inspired decades of students, from our honors students who have gone on to the Ivy League, to those who simply needed to learn the fine art of expression.”
In celebration of Rockland Community College’s 50th Anniversary, a poetry event will be held in November at the college where Masterson and his former students will present poetry. Details of the event will be announced at a later date.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 7:21 pm by Laura Incalcaterra. 
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