Esther Cohen arrived in Greene County nearly four decades ago seeking refuge from her New York City bubble. The poet and writing teacher had found her place in the rolling landscape of upstate New York, teaching classes in libraries, local businesses, even the produce section of a supermarket. When the county appointed her its first-ever poet laureate in January, it felt like validation that she belonged.
Six weeks later, she was fired.
The county legislature rescinded Cohen's appointment after Republican legislator Michael Lanuto raised concerns about her social media presence at a March 4 meeting. Lanuto cited posts he described as promoting violence, including what he claimed was an image of a dying president and statements wishing harm to Donald Trump. An April 3 letter to Create, the arts council that had hired Cohen, referenced "reasonably true" allegations that she had promoted "violence on social media." The legislature voted unanimously on April 15 to strip her of the title.
Cohen was baffled. A self-described pacifist with deep roots in the community, she hadn't intended to promote violence. She deleted the anti-Trump posts once she understood they had offended neighbors. The posts about New York City politician Zohran Mamdani remained.
What actually appeared on her Facebook page remains unclear. The Guardian was unable to view all the posts Cohen deleted after learning of the legislature's concerns. No legislator provided screenshots. The only substantive description came from Lanuto's public recitation: a quote about Trump dying from bad health and "huge, worldwide celebrations" in response, plus what he said looked like an image of an assassinated president with blood.
Lanuto appeared to be reading from posts shared by the Democratic Socialists of America Facebook group rather than Cohen's own original content. She confirmed the posts were shares, not her own writing. In terms of the alleged violent image, no other lawmaker in the chamber could confirm what Lanuto described.
The decision sparked a stark divide in Greene County. Michael Velle, a two-time Trump voter who has taken Cohen's writing class for years, defended her merit. "The constitution is a clear example of an incendiary document," he said, laughing at the notion that social media posts disqualified someone from promoting poetry. Mary Lou Nahas, a Republican who has known Cohen for over 30 years, expressed regret about the decision while declining to take a formal stance.
But legislator Patty Handel called Cohen a "horrible human." Legislator Michael Bulich warned that "guardrails" had to be in place and that grants should involve no political content in art or theater. Patrick Linger, the legislature chair, said he believed Cohen had violated her contract clause prohibiting conduct that would "bring Create or the Greene county poet laureate program into public disrepute."
Notably, the legislature declined Cohen's offer to speak in person. "They didn't feel the need to hear from her," Linger said. "They saw the posts."
Arts advocates view the move within a broader national pattern. Bjorn Thorstad, founding director of the Hudson Valley Writers Residency and a member of the selection committee that chose Cohen, called the decision "emblematic of the assault on the arts writ large." The timing aligns with intensified efforts to reshape public arts funding and institutions, from the National Endowment for the Arts to local cultural programs.
Cohen herself has remained remarkably composed. In an email discussing her feelings, she joked about asking her therapist why she wasn't angrier. "Maybe the reason is that I'm intrinsically hopeful," she wrote. She saw the removal as a missed opportunity for dialogue rather than a reason for bitterness. "If I can make this an opportunity for dialogue, which I feel I've already started to do, that's the poem," she said. "I still love Greene county."
Author James Rodriguez: "A poet loses her title for Facebook reposts in a county that can't even agree on what she posted, and calls it protecting the republic. That's the real poem here."
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