Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Merrill Leffler, Takoma Park's new poet laureate, has been a fixture in the Washington, D.C. poetry scene for decades. Leffler is Takoma Park’s third poet laureate.

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Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Merrill Leffler, Takoma Park's new poet laureate, edits some writing in his backyard.
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Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Merrill Leffler, Takoma Park's new poet laureate, edits some writing in his backyard.
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Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Merrill Leffler, Takoma Park's new poet laureate, edits some writing in his backyard.

Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Merrill Leffler, Takoma Park's new poet laureate, has been a fixture in the Washington, D.C. poetry scene for decades. Leffler is Takoma Park’s third poet laureate.

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Roscoe the Rooster may be a Takoma Park icon, but new poet laureate Merrill Leffler has immortalized him into a literary legend.

Leffler penned a poem about the Takoma Park rooster, and the tribute is among many that make up the writer’s lifelong work, which the city is now honoring by naming Leffler its new poet laureate.

Leffler, 70, of Takoma Park, was named poet laureate two weeks ago, replacing Anne Becker, who served two consecutive two-year terms.

The city’s poet laureate position was created in 2005 and is selected by the Arts and Humanities Commission in the city, said Madona LeBlanc, an arts and humanities commissioner. Leffler is the city’s third poet laureate, LeBlanc said.

“We are highly impressed with Merrill and unanimously nominated him,” LeBlanc said.

Becker said she has known Leffler for years, and both of them have been very active in the Takoma Park and Washington, D.C., poetry community for decades.

“He’s been a really important person in the whole Washington area poetry community,” Becker said. “And he’s given so much to the community to help various individual poets and poet organizations. To me, it partly honors all the work he’s done up to this point.”

LeBlanc said the council chose Leffler for his longtime experience in the poetry community, his work blending poetry with different art forms and his plans to involve Takoma Park residents of all ages in poetry.

“Merrill has a lot of leadership behind him already,” LeBlanc said. “He’s very tied into the community already, so we had to go with Merrill.”

Leffler has lived in Takoma Park since 1979. He has been a member of Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library and helped start the Great Big Book Club, which focuses on reading a large book like “Moby Dick” and “War and Peace” and meets to discuss the lengthy masterpieces.

Leffler also spearheaded the “Spring for Poetry in Takoma Park” campaign, which puts poems on posters and hangs them on poles throughout the city.

“Even though poetry is a small aspect of our culture, I often turn to poems at different times, whether its a time of bereavement or joy,” Leffler said.

Leffler was nominated for the poet laureate post by several people, he said. Two candidates were interviewed for the position, LeBlanc said.

Applicants had to submit a letter to the Arts and Humanities Commission detailing a project they would complete as poet laureate.

Leffler plans to start a poetry workshop related to memory for middle age people as well as workshops with younger people.

Leffler’s journey to the written verse came later in his life. He has an undergraduate degree in physics and went straight to a job with NASA after college. After a couple of years in the rocketry division, though, Leffler decided to take night classes on literature.

“As much as I loved what I was doing, I knew it was not what I wanted to be doing the rest of my life,” Leffler said.

He fell in love with writing and reading and quit his job in 1968. Leffler then went back to school full time at the University of Maryland, College Park for his graduate degree in literature. Afterward, he was awarded a three-year fellowship which he spent at Oxford University in England.

Leffler then spent a few years teaching at the University of Maryland and then the Naval Academy. He wrote book reviews for the Baltimore Sun. Leffler also tried to start a literary magazine, which eventually evolved into a book publisher called Dryad Press. He still publishes a few books a year under the name. Leffler finally took a more permanent position as a science writer at the University of Maryland in 1981, where he remained until 2004.

“You just have to trust yourself,’’ Leffler said. ”For me, I really love it.”

Becker was one of the people who nominated Leffler for the poet laureate position, she said. Becker said she would still be continuing to work with the poetry community after her term.

Becker dedicated her time as poet laureate to encouraging collaboration between several art forms. On June 10, she hosted a performance that combined poetry, music and dance.

“I’ve been doing this whole collaboration idea,” Becker said. “It is so interesting and fulfilling. I just love it so much. I know I will continue to do those kinds of things.”

She also hosted workshops for students and adults.

“I’ve just loved it,” Becker said. “It sort of works like whatever I wanted to do I could do. I could find people to play with me.”

ktousignant@gazette.net