City names Auburn native Marjorie Rommel poet laureate

Published 2:02 pm Wednesday, January 7, 2015

In the days leading up to Monday night’s big moment, one got the impression that the eyes of the appointed-to-be were darting back and forth, hoping to spot a poet brave enough to step forth from the shadows and shift the pending honor upon his or her capable shoulders.

On Monday night Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus, to Marjorie Rommel’s mixed honor and terror, went ahead and named her poet laureate of Auburn, succeeding Dick Brugger, whose two-year term had expired.

“I haven’t gotten used to the idea yet,” Rommel said. “I was really hoping somebody else would get it, seriously hoping. I don’t know if I can do this.”

Enough of that talk, Emilie Shimkus told her mother.

“Oh, mother, stop apologizing,” Shimkus said.

Emilie was right — mama has nothing to apologize for.

Rommel has been writing prose and poetry ever since she was little Marjorie Baker, growing up in Auburn of the 1940s and ’50s. Today the list of her published works, literary activities and honors is its own page turner, a multi-page wake-up call to all literary shirkers, wienies, posers and backbenchers to sit down and start writing.

Rommel, now in her 70s, relies on a walker to get around, but the eyes are as bright as ever, the mind nimble as a cat, the humor radiant and infectious.

But as to what’s expected of her, Rommel said, she’s still waiting to find out.

“I don’t know what the responsibilities are just yet, I haven’t had a chance to talk to anybody,” Rommel said.

What really worries her — being expected to fill the beloved and personable set of shoes Brugger left behind.

“Couldn’t someone else have stepped in? I would far rather have seen Dick Brugger in there again. He’s not only funny, but he’s also sometimes very, very serious, though he balances them. He’s also very much a common man. Everybody knows him.

“All that aside, it really is an honor, it’s just that this is totally new territory to me,” Rommel said.

The City Council created Auburn’s first honorary position of poet laureate in 2012 following up on a resident’s suggestion. By creating the position, City leaders wanted to celebrate the literary arts and the artists in the community.

The specific criteria for the appointment of the poet laureate were based on his or her involvement and commitment to the community, to literary excellence and to the continued pursuit of the craft.

During the two-year term, each poet laureate is expected to share his or her love of poetry with the city and create occasional poems for specific civic events. Rommel’s term runs to the end of 2016.

In forwarding its recommendation, the Auburn Arts Commission had the following to say about Rommel:

“A catalyst for goodwill, the Arts Commission feels that Marjorie Rommel will represent the heart of our community in the honorary role of Poet Laureate. She is a graduate from Pacific Lutheran University (2007) with an MFA degree in Creative Writing/Poetry and her work has appeared in more than a hundred commercial and literary publications. She has deep connections with Auburn and is an active participant in many literary groups and non-profit organizations, both for the support of local poets as well as outreach to student groups. Her poetry is out of her own experiences and reflects her own spirit of generosity and emphasis on community.”