Flanagan, town’s fourth poet laureate since 2015.
In Arlington, there are several job opportunities that seek employees who want to enhance the well-being of the town and its residents. One position, in particular, is tasked with enriching the community through the power of poetry — ensuring the art form is recognized and promoted throughout Arlington.
The poet laureate is a three-year town-appointed position funded by the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture (ACAC), assigned to a local poet who will, in turn, work to advance the literary arts, recognize literary achievements of residents, conduct readings, and participate in public events in schools, library programs, etc. The position was adopted in Arlington in 2014 during that year’s annual Town Meeting, and four individuals have served as poet laureate since.
In January 2023, Arlington appointed its fourth (and current) poet laureate, Jean Flanagan. Her term is scheduled to come to a close during the summer of 2025. Coming up on two years fulfilling this position, YourArlington spoke with the poet laureate to learn more about her history with poetry and within the town of Arlington; what inspires her when working on her own writing, and when she is encouraging those in town to pursue their own poetry.
AN INTERVIEW WITH POET LAUREATE JEAN FLANAGAN
YourArlington: Is Arlington your hometown? What is your history in Arlington?
Flanagan: I’ve lived in Arlington for 49 years, first on Beverly Road, then in East Arlington and now on Mass. Ave. I grew up in Melrose and moved to Arlington when I married attorney Frank Flanagan.
YourArlington: Before you were the town’s poet laureate, what career were you working in?
Flanagan: I worked at MIT in the Laboratory for Nuclear Science for 32 years. My last job in the lab was as the communications officer. I took an early retirement and then went to work as an adjunct professor at Middlesex Community College in Bedford and Lowell. I worked at Middlesex for 20 years. I have a long work history because I went to college at Northeastern University at night. I was lucky to have worked at these two places as both enriched my life.
YourArlington: Can you talk about when your poetry started? How has it evolved throughout your life?
Flanagan: I started writing when I was a young child. My father was a writer. He was the editor of Boston Business Magazine, and he wrote short stories as well. He died when I was 7, and I think poetry helped me with the grief I felt in losing my father at such an early age. There were always books in our house, and there was one called “A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson. I memorized a lot of the poems and still remember the poems today.
After I graduated from college, I decided to take a class at night at Northeastern University. My professor was poet Helena Minton, and she was a wonderful influence on my writing. I also made two friends who are friends today, and one of them is a playwright in addition to her other professional job at a software company. I became more serious about my poetry then and went on from there to study with other area poets and in Ireland with Billy Collins.
YourArlington: How would you describe your poetry?
Flanagan: I think my poetry is evolving and has changed a lot from various influences and ideas. Lately, I think my poetry is more open.
YourArlington: Does the town of Arlington or its residents influence or inspire your writing in any way?
Flanagan: Forty years ago, I met Steven Ratiner at a poetry reading during the open studios for the Arlington Center for the Arts. We became friends and we were in the same poetry group for many years. We still organize Red Letter Live at the Open Studios at the Arlington Center for the Arts.
I consider Marilyn Zuckerman to be my mentor. She was a longtime Arlington resident who passed away a number of years ago. She was an extremely strong person and wrote well into her 90s. The people who influence me the most in Arlington are the members of the Beehive Group. We do a workshop together. There are two groups. The work they do is outstanding. Two members of the group have new books coming out soon.
YourArlington: Can you talk about your poet laureate application process?
Flanagan: I applied to be poet laureate at the suggestion of a few other poets who live in Arlington, including John Burt, who headed up the Poet Laureate Committee. I think the process is very thorough. Members of the poet laureate committee read your work, meet with you, and ask questions. Once I was chosen, I met with Select Board members and the town manager. I was pretty nervous, but I stuck with it.
YourArlington: When did you decide you wanted to be the town’s poet laureate and why?
Flanagan: When Miriam Levine became the first poet laureate in Arlington [in 2015], I decided that someday I’d like to be the poet laureate. I really didn’t think it would actually happen. I have loved being poet laureate. The staff at Robbins Library has been very supportive of my efforts, especially Anna Litten, Lara Vilahomat and Veronica Rodriguez. I don’t know how I would have managed without their help. Bob Sprague at YourArlington has been posted numerous events for us and so has Terry Holt at Arts Arlington, and the Arlington Center for the Arts. My first event was at ACA and my last events will be there as well. I appreciate their support. At this stage in my life, it is nice to be acknowledged for the hard work I have done.
YourArlington: When was your official start date as poet laureate and when is your official end date? 
“I think my poetry is evolving and has changed a lot from various influences and ideas. Lately, I think my poetry is more open.” Jean Flanagan.
Flanagan: I was appointed in December 2022, and I started in January 2023 and will end June 30, 2025.
YourArlington: What were some highlights throughout your time as the poet laureate? What was one of your most memorable experiences?
Flanagan: I’ve had a lot of experiences and challenges. I was honored to write the innovation for Town Meeting, to work with the Cantilena Women’s Chorale and to take part in the Arlington Heights Festival. I also opened a show at the Arlington Center for the Arts called “Stories to Tell: The Wisdom of Lived Years” and I’m going to open the show again in December.
I am very proud of the anthology of Arlington poets, which will be coming out in early 2025. The editors are from the Beehive Poetry group – Andrew Oram is the editor in chief, and Steven Rapp and Philip Lewis and I are editors. Over 50 poets in Arlington have contributed their work. I am also proud of the New Book and Open Mic series that was started by Rapp and me. Steven is a fabulous organizer. The readings happen the third Tuesday of the month at the Robbins Library. We have had top local poets read from their work and there’s always a good crowd.
I’m working with the Arlington Center for the Arts on a project that will take place in 2025. The project includes artists and poets working together. Their work will be exhibited in the ACA gallery at will focus on the Arlington 250 events. We expect to have readings and classes as well.
YourArlington: What hopes do you have for the future of art, specifically poetry, in Arlington?
Flanagan: I would like to see people appreciate the power of poetry more. I’d like to see the position of poet laureate have a budget to do some creative events, I believe poetry is for everyone – we read poems at all major events in our lives.
YourArlington: What is next for you once your term as poet laureate concludes in 2025?
Flanagan: When I conclude my term the first thing, I’m going to do is rest. I think Cathie Desjardins said that when she finished her term. She was right!
Read some of Flanagan’s poetry:
The Life of Stones and Rocks near the Burren
Draw alongside the silence of stone until its calmness can claim you. Be
excessively gentle with yourself. -John O’Donohue
I walk on flat stones.
The crevices and cracks in the rock
go deep into the ground. It looks like
miles down.
The stones are old and lined
from being tossed about by
glaciers that moved them here. Still
not a whisper. Just the silence.
The quiet gives me time to lower the voice
in my head, to accept the passage of time,
the losses of those who lie among the buried.
Miracles are born here among the purple wild orchids
protected by massive gray stones.
Nearby the ground is covered with white shale.
At Finney’s Gas Station
It’s Christmas Eve.
We have no tree.
My mother asks Finney
to give us one. My
sister Anne and I
drive to his station
on the corner
of Wyoming and Pleasant.
He has a good business
there. We pick a tree
He starts yelling at us.
Tells us to leave
without the tree. We
jump in the car.
His anger abates
when he sees
our disappointment.
“Ah, take the damn tree
and get the hell out of here
you urchins.”
We take the tree
and never mention
our humiliation
to our mother.
Learn more information about the town’s poet laureate committee here >>
Oct. 7, 2024: Applications for Arlington’s next poet laureate open through January
This news feature was published Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 based on an interview with Jean Flanagan.
