Introducing Marie Boucher, Poet Laureate of Monterey County | John Fox, PPM
Updated: 5 days ago
I met Marie Boucher earlier this year during the visit of Diné Elder Lupita McClanahan to Mountain View and Carmel Vale, CA. This meeting was such good fortune, truly a blessing.
Marie and her work with poetry, is a stellar expression of the healing power of poems.
Marie was helping IPM get word out about Lupita’s visit as Lupita taught about Hozho, the Beauty Way. This visit was so successful – we welcomed over 250 people into the Hidden Arts Center in Carmel Valley. Marie’s touch made a big difference in this welcoming success.
Marie, as one who was born on Dine' land (in Arizona) and resonated deeply with the teachings of Dine' culture, understood Lupita deeply. Last month in the August IPM Newsletter, we published an expansive piece with four essays about Lupita’s visit.
Marie wrote in her essay:
Lupita has been generously sharing her message of “Walking the Beauty Way in Difficult Times” to various communities across Turtle Island, so we all can remember the importance of speaking to others with respect and care, as if we had “corn pollen” on our tongues. We all need to honor the places we inhabit, treat all beings and the land as sacred, and when we forget to speak with kindness or respect, we are encouraged to remember this essential message of walking in Hozho, the Beauty Way
Marie is (2026-2027) Poet Laureate of Monterey County. She teaches creative, academic, and professional writing and presentation skills, serves as Assistant Professor & Program Head for English for Academic and Professional Purposes at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS).
She co-leads the annual International Poetry Week and monthly International Poetry Gatherings in Monterey. Her international embrace inspires a new book of poems that the world needs!
By gathering poems into Doves Born of Flames: Poetry of Resilience from Many Lands, Marie has curated a very fine volume of international poetry with amazing, multiple dimensions that includes audio versions of all the poems, the poems are often read by the poets themselves.
Her Introduction to Doves Born of Flames – the first paragraph:
Poetry is a language that transcends linguistic and cultural borders–a language both intensely intimate and undeniably universal—as poets write from the heart and remind us about what it means to be human. During these dystopic times, we turn to the poets, whose voices emerge as truth bearers, guardians of empathy, embracing grief and joy simultaneously. Poets distill lived experiences, dreams, observations, and responses to the world around us into relatable verse, allowing us to participate in metabolizing what we are witnessing at this critical inflection point in our collective human history.
This inclusiveness of poets from around the world catches my admiration and attention. Her work resonates with our 15 year experience of funding Merna Ann Hecht’s Stories of Arrival / Word Travels outreach with immigrant and refugee teens.
International Peace Day & Power of Poetry
Thursday, September 24 (12-2pm PT)
Irvine Auditorium (Hybrid Event)
Contact: Marie Butcher (aka Boucher)
Overview of the Event: Community members are warmly invited to attend the annual recognition of International Peace Day & Power of Poetry on Thursday, September 24 at the Irvine Auditorium at the MIIS campus from 12-2pm.
This hybrid event will honor poets who are contributors to the multilingual anthology, Doves Born of Flames: Poetry of Resilience from Many Lands edited by Marie Boucher, Poet Laureate of Monterey County & MIIS Professor & Head of the English for Academic & Professional Purposes.
International and local poets from the collection will convene from around the world—both remotely and in person for this special honoring of “International Peace Day and the Power of Poetry,” weaving their words together on peace, justice, and resilience for this official release of the multilingual poetry anthology, Doves Born of Flames.
Poets will be reading from countries as far as Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa, Poland, and more. The event will feature readers and translators from among the MIIS faculty & alumni, during this special occasion to celebrate our multilingual community—with many languages represented, including: Japanese, Shona, Polish, Arabic, Chinese, and Persian, all with English translations.
Viviana Guzmán, internationally acclaimed, Grammy-nominated flautist, will open and grace the gathering with her magical flute. Viviana has taught masterclasses in 156 universities around the world and currently teaches at University of California Santa Cruz and conducts the Peninsula Youth Orchestra Flute Ensemble.
The International Peace Day Event 2026 is co-sponsored by the Collaborative of Conflict Transformation, Language Studies at MIIS, and the International Poetry Gathering of Monterey.
Location: Irvine Auditorium, 499 Pierce St., Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in Monterey, CA & Online: register at Event Brite
Time: 12- 2pm PT: Prompt arrival is appreciated. 2-3pm: Book signing & light reception to follow in the foyer. The event is free and open to the local & international community online.
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