List of U.S. states' Poets laureate

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Many US states have posts occupied by prominent poets and entitled Poet Laureate of .... The responsibilities are typically similar to those of the Poet Laureate and the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.

Most holders of the these titles reach pre-eminence by public competition, and use the office responsibly to further the knowledge and enjoyment of poetry and the written word by citizens of the states in which they hold office.

Laureates have occasionally been controversial; former New Jersey laureate Amiri Baraka refused to resign after a controversy over a poem, and so New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey abolished the position of poet laureate.[1]

The following are the Poets Laureate of their respective states:

State Poet Laureate Term of office
Alabama Sue Walker 2003-2007[2]
Alaska John Straley
Arkansas Peggy Vining
California Al Young
Mary Crow
Connecticut John Hollander [3]
Delaware Fleda Brown
Florida Edmund Skellings
Georgia David Bottoms
Idaho Kim Barnes
Illinois Kevin Stein
Indiana Joyce Brinkman
Iowa Robert Dana
Kansas Denise Low 2007-2009
Kentucky Sena Jeter Naslund
Louisiana Brenda Marie Osbey
Maine Betsy Sholl
Maryland Michael S. Glaser [4]
Minnesota Robert Bly
Mississippi Winifred Hamrick Farrar
Missouri Walter Bargen
Montana Sandra Alcosser
Nebraska William Kloefkorn [5]
Nevada Norman Kaye
New Hampshire Patricia Fargnoli
New York Billy Collins
North Carolina Kathryn Stripling Byer
North Dakota Larry Woiwode
Oklahoma Francine Ringold
Oregon Lawson Fusao Inada
Rhode Island Tom Chandler
South Carolina Marjory Heath Wentworth
South Dakota David Allan Evans
Tennessee Margaret Britton Vaughn
Texas Alan Birkelbach
Utah Katharine Coles 2006-2011[6]
Vermont Grace Paley
Virginia George Garrett
Washington Samuel Green
West Virginia Irene McKinney
Wisconsin Denise Sweet
Wyoming David Romtvedt

There is no such position in Arizona, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio or Pennsylvania. Hawaii has a state writer.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ smcm.edukyw.com
  2. ^ Alabama Poets Laureate. Alabama Emblems, Symbols and Honors. Alabama Department of Archives & History (2005-04-06). Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
  3. ^ STATE OF CONNECTICUT, Sites º Seals º Symbols; Connecticut State Register & Manual; retrieved on January 4, 2007
  4. ^ Maryland State Poet Laureates
  5. ^ Kloefkorn has the title of Nebraska State Poet. John Neihardt is the Poet Laureate of Nebraska, a title that was permanently bestowed upon him in 1921.
  6. ^ Katharine Coles. Utah Arts Council. Retrieved on July 19, 2007