Suffolk County Community College Alumni Association Congratulates
Deborah Hauser ’94 Appointed Suffolk County Poet Laureate 2023-2025
Sunday, June 25, 2023 3:00 PM
Walt Whitman Birthplace Association
246 Old Walt Whitman Road
Huntington Station, NY 11746
For Immediate Release
Babylon, NY, June 17, 2023 — Deborah Hauser of Babylon, NY was named Suffolk County Poet Laureate for the 2023-2025 term effective June 1, 2023. Suffolk County has had a Poet Laureate since 2003. Hauser succeeds Dr. Richard Bronson and will be the county’s 11th Poet Laureate.
Hauser is the author of Ennui: from the Diagnostic and Statistical Field Guide of Feminine Disorders (Finishing Line Press) of which poet and author Erica Wright says: “While important, feminist theory is rarely charming, Hauser brings charm to the subject of repression. Wordplay is combined with research and the poet’s particular brand of insight . . . this long poem is immediately accessible. It also constitutes one of the most disarming chapbooks I have read in quite some time.”
This appointment is a full circle moment for Hauser who has been an active member of the poetry community since 2007 when she attended a workshop taught by the county’s first Poet Laureate, George Wallace, at Walt Whitman Birthplace. Hauser also spent many years studying with Judy Turek and Paula Camacho at a workshop held at the Farmingdale Public Library as well as taking post-graduate classes at the 92nd Street Y, New York University, and The New School.
An alumna of Suffolk County Community College, Hauser holds a Master’s Degree in English from Stony Brook University. She has taught literature and writing at both schools. Her poems and book reviews have appeared or are forthcoming in Ms. Magazine, Women’s Review of Books, Kenyon Review, Prairie Schooner, Bellevue Literary Review, and CALYX. Her work explores the intersection of poetry and activism and is influenced by feminism, but often contains a bit of humor and whimsy.
She has featured at the Northeast Modern Language Association, New York University, Newman University, KGB Bar, Walt Whitman Birthplace, and Bowery Poetry Club and has presented her academic work at conferences including the Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference and graduate conferences at The City University of New York and Stony Brook University. She curates and hosts a monthly reading series at Jack Jack’s Coffee House for the Babylon Village Arts Council with funding from Poets & Writers Inc. and is the Secretary of the Suffolk County Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), a board member at the Long Island Poetry and Literature Repository, and an editor at Poetrybay.
Hauser appeared before the Suffolk County Legislature on June 6, 2023 to have the resolution designating her as Laureate approved. She read “After,” a poem with a modern twist on Cinderella and what really happens after “happily ever after.” The position will give her the opportunity to promote poetry and support poets in the local community.
“Everyone enjoys stories of double lives and secret identities. Children have Superman; intellectuals have Wallace Stevens” writes Dana Gioia. Hauser leads a double life on Long Island where she works for The Hartford; the same insurance company that Stevens worked for. She lives in Babylon with her spouse and two cats. She also enjoys running, yoga, music, and theater.
A celebration and reading will be held at the Walt Whitman Birthplace, Huntington, NY, June 25 at 3 pm. Upcoming appearances and readings include The Muse Exchange at Neir’s Tavern, Woodhaven, NY, July 12; The Gazebo, Oceanside, NY, July 24; Babylon Village Arts Council Art Walk in Babylon, NY, September 16; Arts on Terry, Patchogue, NY, September 17; and the Word Festival, Oceanside, NY, October 14.
Contact:
Babylon, NY 11702
631 356 5058
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