Talking with Somers Point poet laureate Maria Provenzano

SOMERS POINT, N.J. - Poetry was apparently too controversial for Atlantic City this year, as a plan to pay poets to read their work at the city Farmers' Market was abandoned by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority after some political blowback. But Somers Point has held the line against the (haiku) haters - naming, and paying, the bay town's first poet laureate, Northwestern grad-turned-wine-store-event-planner Maria Provenzano of Egg Harbor Township. Provenzano, 26, will put the concept to its first real test Saturday night, as she does two short, mostly unannounced "Pop Up Poetry" events, one at 7 p.m. at the bar at Sandi Point Coastal Bistro, formerly the famed Mac's, followed by another at Gregory's.

You work at Passion Vines. Have you previously combined poetry with drinking?

Actually, yes. I've done four different wine and poetry readings and tastings. It's been super cool. Many of the people who end up coming aren't necessarily interested in poetry.

So reading poetry while people are drinking won't be something new to you.

That's definitely not new to me. The Pop-Up Poetry is very new. The customers aren't going to expect that I'm coming. Here I am, here's some poetry. It's going to be very casual, very quick. It's going to leave people wondering, "What just happened?"

How did you get this gig?

The Somers Point Arts Commission elected me to be poet laureate.

I've worked with Kathy Arleth, [the chair of the commission] before in the past. She owns an art gallery in Somers Point. She does a summer project every year with local writers and artists, and she made me aware of the position. I submitted a writing sample, resumé.

Did you have to audition?

It wasn't an audition. Just an application, a brief bio, a sample of poems.

Were you surprised there was to be a poet laureate in Somers Point?

It's certainly very surprising. It's very rare for a small town to have a position like that. There's a national poet laureate, and some cities like San Francisco [have one]. It's very exciting.

How do you think you'll be received in the bar on a Saturday night? People on vacation might be more open to something odd.

I don't really know. That was sort of the idea, starting in the summertime. A lot of people are in the area, locals and people who are not from here.

It will add a really neat texture in Somers Point. It's a lot of people coming on vacation who wouldn't really expect this. They'll be, "Oh this is really a neat thing that can happen in Somers Point. Hey, you guys always do this in Somers Point?"

How about the idea to have poets at the farmers' market in Atlantic City?

I think that got shot down.

Poetry can be controversial.

It's so interesting - and not at all surprising - that that happened.

There is a [$500] stipend in Somers Point. To acknowledge people who are doing poetry and doing arts, that's not in a lot of the mind-set right now.

We don't view the arts as a service we pay for. Like we pay for people to serve us food. It's not really what we value. Literally, we're not valuing it. That's really hard to do because it's art. It's just recognizing that this is something that's adding interest, culture, and value to our town.

Still, I thought the farmers' market idea would have worked if they just invited poets to sign up to read. It didn't necessarily require a fee. That opened it up to criticism.

My first reaction was to be upset and sad [when officials dropped the plan], but at the same time, it opens the door to continue the conversation.

Somebody says, "No that's not worth it"; somebody else can say, "Yes it is worth it, and this is why it should be valued."

I personally would be so happy to be involved with something like that. I wouldn't even think twice about, "Am I being compensated for this?" The larger conversation to be had is, if this is something that is adding value, why aren't we literally valuing it?

So you're going to pop into Gregory's and Sandi' Point and just start reading, your own poems and others. Which ones?

I haven't finalized everything just yet. Some of my own, and just some fun ones that fit into the location.

What fun sort of bar poems can I bring in? Some drinking poems. Most of my poems tend to focus on things that occur in the natural world. I'm very inspired by biology. Very mundane-seeming things. My poetry is very sensory. I like imagery.

You're clearly embracing the context of it, not just hoping someone will notice over their beers.

I'm absolutely embracing the context. I'm using it as an opportunity to connect with people. Even though it's going to be random, it'll be something to be connecting.

I'm not worried if people are listening to me or not. That's not the point.

By its nature, it's going to be something different. Really, the main idea is for people to be shaken up a little bit. They'll be having dinner with their family, and something a little bit different would be happening. It's still something a little bit different regardless of whether they're listening.

Will you be using a mic, standing on the bar?

I don't actually know.

There might be a little platform. I'm going to go in open-minded. I can project pretty well.

I would rather there not be a microphone, actually, so it's not forced on people. I'm interested in the performance part.

I was a double major in creative writing and world religion. I don't have a performance background. I really like reading my poems.

(Interview condensed and edited.)

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