Many U.S. states have the post of poet laureate, which is typically held by a prominent poet. The responsibilities of the poet laureate are typically similar to those of the British Poet Laureate and the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, to make public appearances and promote awareness of poetry and their geographical region.
Most holders of these titles reach preeminence by public competition, and use the office 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.
The following are the current Poets Laureate of their respective states:
| State | Current incumbent | Term of office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Sue Walker | 2003–2012 | |
| Alaska | Nancy Lord | 2008–2010 | |
| Arizona | Vacant (Selection in Progress) | 2013–2015 | Position created in 2012 by the state legislature. |
| Arkansas | Peggy Vining | 2003– | |
| California | Juan Felipe Herrera | 2012– | |
| Colorado | David Mason | 2010– | |
| Connecticut | Dick Allen | 2010–2015 | |
| Delaware | JoAnn Balingit | 2008– | |
| District of Columbia | Dolores Kendrick | 1999– | |
| Florida | Edmund Skellings | 1980–2012 | |
| Georgia | David Bottoms | 2000– | |
| Hawaii | Kealoha | 2012– | |
| Idaho | Anthony Doerr | 2007–2010 | The title in Idaho is "Writer in Residence", not Poet Laureate |
| Illinois | Kevin Stein | 2003– | |
| Indiana | Karen Kovacik Peggy Martin |
2012 2007–2009 |
Now "premier poet" (unofficial laureate, a position in existence since 1929) as opposed to official laureate (since 2005) |
| Iowa | Mary Swander | 2009– | |
| Kansas | Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg | 2009–2012 | |
| Kentucky | Maureen Morehead | 2011–2012 | |
| Louisiana | Julie Kane | 2011‒2013 | |
| Maine | Wesley McNair | 2011–2016 | |
| Maryland | Stanley Plumly | 2004– | |
| Minnesota | Joyce Sutphen | 2011– | |
| Mississippi | Natasha Trethewey | 2012–2016 | |
| Missouri | William Trowbridge | 2012–2014 | |
| Montana | Sheryl Noethe | 2011‒ | |
| Nebraska | (none) | Successor not yet named | |
| Nevada | Norman Kaye | 1967–2007 | |
| New Hampshire | Walter E. Butts | 2009– | |
| New Jersey | (none) | Existed 1999‒2002 | Amiri Baraka was Poet Laureate from 1999–2002 before the position was eliminated. |
| New York | Jean Valentine | 2008–2010 | |
| North Carolina | Joseph Bathanti | 2012–2014 | |
| North Dakota | Larry Woiwode | 1995– | |
| Oklahoma | Jim Barnes | 2009– | |
| Oregon | Cara Boulton | 2012–2015 | |
| Pennsylvania | (none) | Existed 1993‒2003 | |
| Rhode Island | Lisa Starr | 2007– | |
| South Carolina | Marjory Heath Wentworth | 2003– | |
| South Dakota | David Allan Evans | 2002– | |
| Tennessee | Margaret Britton Vaughn | 1999– | |
| Texas | David M. Parsons | 2011– | |
| Utah | Katharine Coles | 2006–2011 | |
| Vermont | Ruth Stone | 2007– | |
| Virginia | Sofia Starnes | 2012–2014 | |
| Washington | Kathleen Flenniken | 2012–2014 | Samuel Green was Poet Laureate from 2007–2009 before the position was eliminated. In 2011, the governor agreed to resume the program, provided that no state funds would be used. |
| West Virginia | Irene McKinney | 1993–2012 | |
| Wisconsin | Bruce Dethlefsen | 2010– | |
| Wyoming | David Romtvedt | 2004– |
There has never been an official State Poet Laureate in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, or Ohio.
| Poetry portal |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list and/or poets:
“Modern tourist guides have helped raised tourist expectations. And they have provided the natives—from Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichacestenango—with a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to- date scripts for actors on the tourists’ stage.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
“We saw the machinery where murderers are now executed. Seven have been executed. The plan is better than the old one. It is quietly done. Only a few, at the most about thirty or forty, can witness [an execution]. It excites nobody outside of the list permitted to attend. I think the time for capital punishment has passed. I would abolish it. But while it lasts this is the best mode.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Example moves the world more than doctrine. The great exemplars are the poets of action, and it makes little difference whether they be forces for good or forces for evil.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)