{"id":322,"date":"2026-05-15T19:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/miamimovershub.com\/?p=322"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:34:22","slug":"the-peoples-poet-a-conversation-with-nicole-tallman-miami-dades-poet-laureate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miamimovershub.com\/?p=322","title":{"rendered":"The People\u2019s Poet: A Conversation with Nicole Tallman, Miami-Dade\u2019s Poet Laureate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Poetry took center stage on Episode 9 of <\/span>The Miami Book Hub<\/span><\/i>, where I had the pleasure of welcoming Nicole Tallman, Miami-Dade County\u2019s newly appointed Poet Laureate.<\/span><\/p>

Read more Stationery, Sparkle, and Mahjong: Mimi Paper & Gifts Opens Its Doors in South Miami<\/a><\/p>\n

Nicole, a longtime Miami-Dade County colleague and passionate advocate for the literary arts, was appointed in April as the County\u2019s third Poet Laureate. The program, she explained, was created by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava \u201cto help recognize poetry in Miami-Dade County,\u201d and to serve as \u201ca sort of ambassador\u2026for the literary arts and poetry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Nicole, the role is about accessibility. \u201cI\u2019ve made it a point to try to find ways to make poetry more accessible to people,\u201d she said. That mission is already taking shape through projects such as <\/span>Songs for America<\/span><\/i>, created in celebration of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary, and <\/span>Miami Moves Me<\/span><\/i>, which brings poems onto public transit screens.<\/span><\/p>\n

I especially appreciated <\/span>Miami Moves Me<\/span><\/i> because it bridges two of my own worlds: transportation and writing. I relayed how I enjoy seeing riders look up from their personal screens to engage with the poems. \u201cCommuting can be stressful,\u201d I noted, and poetry can offer a moment of reflection, beauty and connection in an otherwise ordinary trip.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our conversation also explored a deceptively simple question: What makes a poem a poem? Nicole resisted a rigid definition, but offered a thoughtful one. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s a container of expression,\u201d she said. \u201cFor me, it has a degree of music to it.\u201d While rhyme has fallen somewhat out of fashion in contemporary poetry, Nicole emphasized that musicality remains essential, whether through cadence, repetition, slant rhyme, internal rhyme or other craft tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

That lifelong relationship with language began early. \u201cI don\u2019t remember not writing poetry,\u201d Nicole said. \u201cMy mother read poetry to me from a very, very young age.\u201d She added that poetry and music have always lived closely together in her imagination: \u201cI wake up with poetry in my head.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

We also discussed Nicole\u2019s work as a collaborator across art forms and institutions. She has written poems in response to visual art for Miami City Ballet and is now developing a signature project at the intersection of poetry and music. Her hope is to pair local poets with musicians, allowing musicians to respond to recorded readings of poems and create new works that may be shared in public spaces or performed live. \u201cI believe in paying poets and artists for their work,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The episode also offered insight into the world of poetry publishing. Nicole described her new experimental flip chapbook, <\/span>Dolce Vita<\/span><\/i> \/ <\/span>Let There Be a Little Light<\/span><\/i>, published by Bottlecap Press. One side contains lyrical, diary-like 15-line poems; the other explores more surreal, rhyming poems inspired by colors of light. She read selections from both, to my great delight.<\/span><\/p>

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In a fun and heartfelt closing moment, I read an original ode I had written for Nicole, celebrating her appointment and her work on behalf of Miami\u2019s literary community. It read, in part:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA colleague by day, a poet by soul, you remind us that words can make fractured things whole.<\/span>\n<\/span>That rhythm and rhyme aren\u2019t just lines on a page; they\u2019re the pulse of a people, the voice of an age. So here\u2019s to your pen, your passion, your flame; to the beauty you build in community\u2019s name. May your poems keep rising, like dawn on the sea, to lift up our beloved Miami.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It is a testament to Nicole\u2019s down-to-earth nature that she accepted my amateur, \u201cDr. Seuss-ish\u201d poem with grace and appreciation. It is no wonder, then, that she has been called a \u201cpoet of the people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Through her appointment, public projects and creative partnerships, Nicole is helping remind residents that poetry is not confined to bookshelves or classrooms. It can live on trains, in public spaces, in music, in memory and in the everyday rhythm of the city itself; even in the rhymes of a would-be Dr. Seuss.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can learn more about Nicole Tallman and Miami-Dade County\u2019s poetry initiatives at <\/span>NicoleTallman.com<\/span> and <\/span>miamidade.gov\/poetry<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

To view this full interview and other episodes of <\/span>The Miami Book Hub<\/span><\/i> visit my YouTube channel at <\/span>YouTube.com\/@J.AdrianBetancourt<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>

Read more Broward Children\u2019s Center Introduces Animal-Assisted Therapy Program with Certified Therapy Dog<\/a><\/p>\n\n

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Poetry took center stage on Episode 9 of The Miami Book Hub, where I had the pleasure of welcoming Nicole Tallman, Miami-Dade County\u2019s newly appointed Poet Laureate. Nicole, a longtime Miami-Dade County colleague and passionate advocate for the literary arts, was appointed in April as the County\u2019s third Poet Laureate. 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