A MESSAGE FROM THE CENTER'S FOUNDER & PRESIDENT - Tammy Nuzzo- Morgan, Ph. D. Hi all, I'm Tammy. There are many, like myself, who believe that writing is a vehicle of creating connections, to oneself and others. The sense of isolation diminishes, even disappears. We do not want to live a life in a vacuum. Robert Frost said, “A poem never starts out as a poem. It begins as a lump in the throat, a love sickness, a home sickness. A poem is when the emotion has found the thought and the thought has found the words.” Roger Rosenblatt once said, “We go through the arduous task of learning how to speak in order to tell the stories within.” The drive to say, “I am/was here” is hardwired in humans. This “drive” has been with us since we were aware of our “humanness”. The Indonesian hand prints are at least 39,900 years old. I am a believer that the creative process enables deeper critical thinking. It represents the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; that being: self-actualization. There are many, like myself who write as a form of therapy; when the world does not make sense, when it is colder than icebergs, or when it shows a sign that there is hope. I hone the emotion in my personal lyrical poetry into a piece of highly polished art. The poem becomes a lantern for the reader, signaling someone understands and waits to embrace them. I teach poetry because I know the healing power of words. I know the human mind is poetic in nature. I know that with a handful of instruction and an armload of encouragement poems emerge from those who never thought they possessed the gift. I teach poetry because I understand the soul, in all of us, suffers and rejoices. I know the yearning to release/express. I, like my students, too, am like Keller seeking the sight of words. I have had the pleasure to serve as Suffolk County Poet Laureate (2009 – 2011) and the Long Island Poet of the Year (2017). I have devoted my adult life to poetry and having a location on Long Island that is open to anyone wishing to utilizing it. I have my BS in Accounting/Business Administration, my MBA in Banking/Finance and Management, I also have my MFA in Creative Writing & Literature, with a concentration in poetry. I earned my Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a concentration in Humanities & Culture. My dissertation topic was: The Healing Power of Poetry. I founded The North Sea Poetry Scene, Inc. in 2001, a 501C3. Through that organization I have had the honor of sharing poetry and showcasing poets from various under served segments of our society, giving agency to those who participated in our programs. I have gone into schools and prisons, believing poetry is a thread that can create a fabric of humanity in almost all who are enfolded in it. I incorporated the Long Island Poetry & Literature Repository, Inc. (LIP&LR) in 2021, also a 501C3, and a growth offshoot of T.N.S.P.S. Some of my poetry-related accomplishments are: Accomplishments: 2017 Appointed Associate Editor Penumbra Union University; 2017 W.W.B.A. Long Island Poet of the Year; 2016 Charter Member of the Long Island Authors’ Circle; 2015 National Association Poetry Therapy Member; 2012 – Poet-in-Residence Southampton Historical Museum; 2011 Nominated Pushcart Prize, "Beneath an Irish Sky" by Mobius; 2011 Appointed Faculty Advisor: Poetry Club; 2011 - 2014 Poetry Director of Youth Program in Ireland at the Gerard Manly Hopkins Festival; 2011 - 2017 Opened L.I. Poetry Archival/Arts Center; 2011 Appointed to editorial board: “Her Campus” Stony Brook University; 2010 Mobius’ Editor-in-Chief Choice Award; 2009 Appointed Suffolk County Poet Laureate post 2009 –2011; 2009 Recipient of LIWG Community Service Award; 2006 Listed in Poets & Writers; 2005- Founder/Editor of L. I. Sounds Anthology; 2004 Founded The North Sea Poetry Scene Press; 2001 Founded The North Sea Poetry Scene, Inc.