November 19, 2013, SANTA FE — Democratic State Senator Bill O’Neill will read from his poetry for a group of creative writing students at the New Mexico School for the Arts on Thursday, November 21st.
“NMSA is the only statewide residential charter school in New Mexico that provides a mastery level education in the arts,” said Riis Gonzales, Director of New Mexico School for the Arts–Art Institute. “It’s an honor to have Senator O’Neill visit our School and inspire our creative students. We’re eager to ask him about his creative process and how his service as a legislator has influenced his work,” Gonzales said.
O’Neill will sponsor legislation in the upcoming session to establish a Poet Laureate program for the state.
“New Mexico is one of only four states that does not have a Poet Laureate,” O’Neill said. “We hope to make poetry more accessible to all sectors of our community, especially those who have had limited exposure to this powerful form of expression.”
A graduate of Cornell University, O’Neill’s poems have been published in the Santa Fe Literary Review, The New Mexico Poetry Review, The Malpais Review and several national publications. He is a former state representative and currently represents Albuquerque’s District 13 in the New Mexico senate.