Northport Woman Named 'Long Island Poet Of The Year'

OLD WESTBURY, NY — Jesse Curran, a Northport native, was named Long Island Poet of the Year, the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, Inc. announced.

The Long Island roots of Walt Whitman, long considered one of America’s iconic poets, were closely tied to many of the works he created across his lifetime, the association wrote. In that spirit, the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association annually selects a local writer as its "Long Island Poet of the Year."

Curran, a lecturer in the English Department of SUNY Old Westbury, won the award in 2025.

"This honor feels like a call to service for me to promote and celebrate the vibrant possibilities of art and poetry in the context of Long Island’s natural and cultural histories," Curran told Patch. "I am looking forward to creating some programs with the Walt Whitman Birthplace that will allow the public to experiment with writing in this context. Whitman drew incredible inspiration from the geography and ecology of Long Island, and poetry can provide a means of drawing more attention to the vitality and precarity of our island."

Along with her teaching, Curran is an accomplished poet and essayist. Her creative work has appeared in dozens of literary journals, including "About Place," "Blueline," and "Ruminate." She has also authored two chapbooks of poems and a lyric novel, "A Handful of Earth."

Her recent book project, a collection of poems and essays, turns to the North Shore of Long Island and explores the metaphorical resonance of local landmarks, using as her centerpiece landscapes and other works by Arthur Dove and Helen Torr, mid-20th century artists who called Long Island home and often used its geography as inspiration for their art.

The award deals specifically with a poet’s connection to the Long Island community, according to Curran.

"It is a distinct honor that acknowledges my devotion to creating poems that reflect on the idea and experience of 'place,'" she said. "And so, while I’ve received other recognition for my writing, this award feels closer to home because it involves my larger practice as an educator in our community. As a teacher, I am committed to positioning poetry as something that can both educate and inspire."

Curran said her recent poems and essays on Long Island’s North Shore are a "direct response to the artwork" of modernist painters Arthur Dove and Helen Torr, who lived in the Huntington area in the early 20th century.

"As painters interested in landscape, their work has helped me cultivate deepened appreciation for what’s right here in our own backyards," Curran said.

Curran said she loved exploring the Huntington Lighthouse through the work of Dove and Torr, learning more about its history, visiting it for a tour, and thinking about its ongoing metaphorical meaning.

"That poem is complete, but I could envision writing another one," Curran said on the lighthouse.

The Long Island Poet of the Year award is an annual award given by the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, Inc. to honor a "notable and distinguished local poet who actively promotes poetry on Long Island."

Established in 2002, the Poet of the Year has been awarded to nationally recognized poets who champion poetry, and, through their writing, teach and support the Long Island poetry community.

The Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, founded in 1949, is a not-for-profit organization first established to preserve Whitman’s birthplace. In 1957, it led the successful effort to designate the birthplace a New York State Historic Site. In 1985, the property was listed on the NYS and National Registers of Historic Places. In present day, the association operates the historic site in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.