Cambridge Writers’ Workshop co-Founder co-Director Diana Norma Szokolyai is a finalist for the Salem Poet Laureate. Diana Norma Szokolyai began her poetry journey while living in Paris, France and frequenting the Other Writers Workshop at Shakespeare & Co. Bookshop and Spoken Word Paris. She is an experienced educator, poet, editor, and community builder. Her works include Credo: An Anthology of Manifestos and Sourcebook for Creative Writing and Disobedient Futures (forthcoming), as well as two poetry collections: Parallel Sparrows and Roses in the Snow. She leads the World Poetry Salon at ChagallPAC on Artists’ Row in Salem, providing free literary readings and workshops. Her efforts include a poetry art installation for the Salem Arts Festival and a fellowship award for translating Romani poets from the Center for Arts + Social Justice at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her work explores the transformative power of language, mistranslations, inclusivity, healing, meditation, ecological conservation, the culture of food, and community. Some of her important mentors are poets Kathleen Spivack and Richard Jackson. 

The Poet Laureate Finalist Readings will take place on Friday, September 20th, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the Forest River Community Room, located at 32 Clifton Ave, Salem, MA 01970.