Poetic Obituaries: [Walter E.] Butts was long an integral member

and leader here. He formed a number of readings, including an ambitious effort in the mid 1990s at Seacoast Repertory Theatre and assisted in establishing the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program. "There was very little he didn't have his hand in," says [Mark] DeCarteret. "He cherished that role, anything that got poetry more readerships and a larger audience."

Butts also established readings in New York, Boston and other Massachusetts communities before moving to the area.

from Portsmouth Herald News: Goodbye, Walter--The passing of a poet laureate

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