Poetry in Motion: Lexington City Council puts verse in the spotlight

{Photo Credit: Stock Photography}

Opinion

By Antionette Kerr

You don’t often hear the words “City Hall” and “poetry” in the same sentence—unless you’re lucky enough to live in Lexington.

But this April, that changes in a meaningful way.

On Monday, April 28, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., Lexington’s City Council will issue a formal proclamation honoring National Poetry Month and one of our region’s literary treasures, Barbara Presnell. The ceremony will take place at City Centre, 200 North State Street, and the public is encouraged to attend and celebrate a rare—and long overdue—moment of civic recognition for the written word.

Let’s not sugarcoat it: we’ve asked for this before—more than once. And we didn’t just get overlooked. We got stone-cold rejected by previous administrations.

But this year? The answer was different. Mayor Jason Hayes said yes. The Lexington City Council stepped up. And our neighbors in Thomasville, who have long championed the arts, continue to set a strong example of what local arts support can—and should—look like.

That “yes” is being turned into action with a proclamation honoring Barbara Presnell, one of North Carolina’s most respected literary voices.

Presnell is a poet, essayist, and educator whose work has been recognized across the country. Her poetry collection Piece Work captured the lives of the women who worked in Lexington’s Erlanger Mill, stitching working-class stories into North Carolina’s literary fabric. Her essays and poems have appeared in The Southern Review, Appalachian Journal, and Chariton Review, and she’s earned fellowships from both the North Carolina Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women.

Beyond the page, Presnell has spent years nurturing the next generation of writers, teaching writing at UNC Charlotte and guiding countless voices in workshops and classrooms across the region.

Now, as if the timing were scripted by the muses themselves, she’s releasing a brand-new collection: Otherwise I’m Fine. It’s a sharp, timely meditation on how language shapes—and sometimes misses—our attempts to connect. And yes, you can grab a copy locally at Pig City Books or online through Amazon.

So yes, this moment matters.

Because poetry isn’t fluff. It’s protest. It’s memory. It’s motion. And thanks to a change in leadership and a community that’s pushing for more inclusive cultural recognition, poetry is finally getting its due.

To Mayor Hayes, the Lexington City Council, and the arts-forward champions in Thomasville: thank you. This isn’t just a proclamation. It’s a turning point.

And to Barbara Presnell: thank you for putting us into words when the rest of the community turned the page.