Philip Asaph is Cortland County’s First Poet Laureate
- Nancy Dafoe
- Mar 17
- 2 min read
“I see this opportunity as a chance to serve my community about something I love doing—writing poetry.” Philip Asaph
Philip Asaph has been named Cortland County’s first Poet Laureate to begin serving his position in 2026, as designated by the Cortland County Legislature.
Asaph, originally a Long Island native, said he moved to Cortland County based upon a chance meeting at a poetry reading. While attending a reading in Ithaca, NY, Asaph met Cortland resident Nancy Dickerson who encouraged him to move to Cortland County where the people are nice and the rents are reasonable.
A former high school and teen center teacher and instructor, Asaph more recently has begun teaching Meditation Method. “I have taught in many different venues, including colleges. He attended SUNY Stonybrook, City College in New York City, and others.
Asaph will be the featured reader at the Center for the Arts in Homer on Thursday, April 2, 2026 at 7 pm. Other poet laureate finalists have been invited to read with him at the Center.
"Bringing people to poetry will help make our community even stronger.”
Although Asaph has previously written a book of poetry, Four Short Stories and Ten Love Poems, it is now out of print. But he is working on, and nearly finished with, a second book tentatively titled Here at the Heart of Western Civ. His poems have appeared in a number of literary journals and magazines, including Poetry, Glimmer Train, and Poetrybay.
The poet is also a meditation instructor, and his new poetry will likely deal with some of the concepts of discovery found in meditation.
“I’m ready, willing, and able to offer poetry workshops all around Cortland County in service to the county residents and the legislature. I have already attended Town Hall meetings to introduce myself and talk about the ways I could help residents learn to write or improve their poetry.”
In addition, Asaph will have a booth at the Cortland Arts Connect sponsored Arts Off Main festival this summer on August 1, 2026.
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