List of U.S. states' Poets Laureate

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	Wyatt Townley	2013–2015
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	Rick Benjamin	2013–2017
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.

External links

• U.S. state poets laureate – a comprehensive guide
• Alaska state poet laureate
• [4]
• California state poet laureate
• Connecticut state poet laureate
• Delaware state poet laureate
• Georgia state poet laureate
• Illinois state poet laureate
• Official state poems
• Washington state poet laureate
• Washington state poet laureate