Class News

Sydney Lea ’64, Vermont award-winner, reads from his work

January 20, 2022

Former Poet Laureate of Vermont Sydney Lea of Newbury VT, who received the 2021 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, reads from his work in a new Vermont Arts Council video (see it below). This video is one of a series of short video tributes produced by The Vermont Arts Council to honor its 2021 Arts Award recipients.

Each year, the Vermont Arts Council, in partnership with the governor’s office, honors five individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the state’s cultural landscape. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arts Council was unable to hold its annual in-person ceremony, so instead the Council honored its recipients on film.

In introducing Lea’s award, Vermont Governor Phil Scott said: “I’m so impressed by the wide-ranging scope of Lea’s work, which includes publishing a number of books, serving as Vermont’s Poet Laureate, and teaching at top universities. But maybe what I appreciate most is how his love of Vermont seeps into everything he writes.”

In his video, Lea wanders through woods and along trails near his home and describes the discovery process that occurs for him in composing poems. He reads two poems, “Metaphor” and “Mahayana in Vermont,” from his 2013 collection I Was Thinking of Beauty.