Rockford’s new poet laureate is ready for the city to find its voice with her

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — As the city’s newest poet laureate, Lydia Kozlowski will help budding writers find their poetic voice. She expects to further define her own in the process.

At 26, Kozlowski is the youngest poet laureate in the short history of the city’s honorary position. She said she initially felt insecurity about being too young for the role, or not as widely published as the two previous laureates.

Now, the Rockford native is embracing the opportunity to grow her own poetic voice while advocating for the literary arts in the city.

“I think people will definitely see me change, and that’s not a bad thing,” said Kozlowski, whose full-time job is as marketing commercialization manager for Greenlee, a part of Emerson. “I think the role is going to influence me and help me grow as a writer.”

Kozlowski was sworn in to the two-year role on Jan. 21. She succeeds Jenna Goldsmith, who was the second poet to hold the title after Christine Swanberg held the role from 2021-2022.

Goldsmith sees the advantages of having a poet laureate who is still emerging and discovering her voice as a poet.

“This will likely push her style and shape her writing in new and perhaps even challenging ways,” Goldsmith said. “For the community, more of an emerging poet in this role is a net positive because you’ll have somebody who is energetic and hungry for new experiences. She may find that she can play with style and form in new ways because she has not established herself as one kind of poet or another kind of poet.”

That freedom to explore the form is something Kozlowski relishes.

Since returning to Rockford in 2020, she’s connected with writing groups at Maze Books, performed poetry with Moon Dog Theatre and read with Goldsmith in the Nordlof Center’s black box theater. In doing so, she’s challenged herself to explore different forms, styles and topics.

“I try not to pressure myself into one specific category,” Kozlowski said. “One season I’ll be exploratory and try new forms … sometimes it’s just focusing on observing what’s going on around me, other times it’s trying to really immerse myself in nature, other times it’s more contemporary. …

“I feel like that’s the beauty of poetry is not putting yourself in one specific category. You can kind of play with it all in a way.”

Kozlowski, a Boylan Catholic High School graduate, said it wasn’t until her senior year at Lewis University that she began to fully immerse herself in the art form. That came after pivoting her focus in college from a career path toward nursing to an English literature major.

Goldsmith, an award-winning poet and author of two books of poetry, expects Kozlowski to excel in the role.

“As poet laureate, you have to be able to meet audiences where they are at. Lydia has a calmness about her that allows her to connect with people and audiences very effortlessly,” Goldsmith said. “At the same time, Lydia brings a gravitas and seriousness to the room because she takes herself and her work seriously. I think Lydia’s overall vibe will be well received in our down to earth city.”

Kozlowski is the daughter of Polish immigrants, and she hopes to draw on her own roots to help promote a diverse array of voices in the community.

As poet laureate, she’ll host workshops and appear at events on behalf of the city, such as last week’s regional Poetry Out Loud competition at Jefferson High School. She hopes to highlight international voices in poetry and storytelling in future events to allow Rockford creatives to showcase their roots.

“Growing up speaking two languages, trying to figure out where do I fit in that culture, where do I fit in this culture — art has helped me kind of figure that out,” Kozlowski said. “I think there are a lot of communities like the Polish community here in Rockford where there are those artists or writers who really want to showcase their language, their world and their perspectives.”

The role of poet laureate was created in 2020 in a partnership between the city, the Rockford Area Arts Council and the Rockford Public Library. There is also a youth poet position, which is a one-year term previously held by Giulyana Gamero, Kaila Anderson and most recently Trinity Rucker.

The newest youth poet, Boylan student Autumn Smith, was sworn into the role Tuesday night.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas