Bruce Taylor reading his work.

Eau Claire no longer has a poet laureate. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean incumbent municipal scribe Bruce Taylor is out of a (totally voluntary) job. A few weeks ago, the Eau Claire City Council voted to change the name of the poet laureate position to “writer in residence,” a step that City Council President Kerry Kincaid wrote will “welcome local writers of ay literary genre to apply” for the post. Taylor, a retired UW-Eau Claire English professor with multiple published verse collections under his belt, has served as poet laureate since 2011, and will wear the virtual laurel wreath until next April 1. At that time, according to the newly approved council resolution, a subcommittee of the Literary Arts Committee of the Eau Claire Regional Arts Commission will be asked to recommend a new writer in residence for approval by the City Council. During his or her two-year term, “The Writer in Residence would work to bring about a greater appreciation and enjoyment of the value and importance of the reading, performance, publication and writing of literature,” explains a City Council memo. Are you a poet, playwright, essayist, fiction writer, or composer of clever jingles? If so, Taylor’s new title could be yours next year.