A Way with Words

Virginia’s new poet laureate makes a vow: to help aspiring writersand promote a love of language

Poet Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda admits that she doesn’t know how to be retired, and it doesn’t look like things will slow down for her anytime soon. In June, Gov. Timothy Kaine appointed Kreiter-Foronda to the post of Virginia poet laureate.

Kreiter-Foronda spent 31 years working with Fairfax County Public Schools in a number of capacities before retiring to a waterfront home in Middlesex County with her husband, Patricio. For years, she taught at West Springfield High School while taking course after course at Mason part time.

“I knew I wanted to get my master’s degree in literature, but they kept adding new courses and degree programs, and I kept taking them,” she says. As a result, Kreiter-Foronda holds three graduate degrees from Mason. She earned her master of education in 1973 and her master of arts in English in 1979.

“Then, one of my good friends told me about [poet] Peter Klappert and said I had to take a class with him,” she says. “It changed my life. I truly consider him my mentor.”

Kreiter-Foronda enrolled in Mason’s first doctoral program, working toward a doctor of arts in education, working with Klappert and a number of award-winning poets, including Donald Justice, Margaret Atwood, Maxine Kumin, and Ai.

In 1983, Kreiter-Foronda was awarded the first doctoral degree given by the university. She is still tickled by the fact that she shares a milestone with her alma mater and shows up on university timelines, most recently in the Mason Spirit.

Since then, she has published four books of poetry, Contrary Visions, Gathering Light, Death Comes Riding, and Greatest Hits, and her work has appeared widely in magazines and journals, including Poet Lore, Prairie Schooner, and Antioch Review. She also sculpts and paints, combining her love of poetry with the visual arts by conducting art-inspired writing workshops for teachers and the general public in such venues as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

She says she owes her abilities as a writing instructor to time spent with the Northern Virginia Writing Project, working with its founders Chris Thaiss and Don Gallehr. Kreiter-Foronda attended the project’s first summer institute in 1978.

“I have known Carolyn since 1978, when she first enrolled in one of my workshops at George Mason,” says Klappert. “When she was teaching at West Springfield High School, I sometimes went in to read poems and visit her classes. She was, hands down, THE best high school teacher I’ve ever seen in action. Carolyn is one of the most gracious and giving artists I’ve ever known, and I count myself lucky to have had her as a friend for 28 years.”

Currently, she is helping edit an instructional guide to accompany a DVD on Virginia poet laureates from 1996 to 2004 and has established a program through the Poetry Society of Virginia to promote poetry in the schools at all instructional levels. In 1992, she was named a Virginia cultural laureate for her contributions to American literature.

Kreiter-Foronda feels strongly about helping other writers. In every presentation or reading she gives, she makes an effort to mention other poets, read their work, and share their books with the audience.

“I love teaching. I feel fortunate to be able to work with others and talk about the things I love,” she says. “I see this appointment as an invaluable opportunity to promote poetry on a large scale.”