Kentucky Poets Laureate
In 1926, the Kentucky General Assembly established the position of Kentucky Poet Laureate, and James T. "Cotton" Noe was nominated to the role. Originally, the General Assembly granted poets laureate lifetime appointments, and sometimes several people occupied the position simultaneously. However, in 1990, new legislation changed the position to a gubernatorial appointment and limited the position to a two-year term.
Duties of the Kentucky Poet Laureate involve promoting the literary arts throughout the Commonwealth, particularly participating in state literary activities like Kentucky Writers' Day.
Selection of the Kentucky Poet Laureate follows a public call for nominations. Nominees must "reside in Kentucky, have a long association with the Commonwealth, and have a critically acclaimed published body of work that is informed by living in Kentucky." Nominees are reviewed by an independent panel, and the Governor selects the final appointee.
Source: Kentucky Arts Council
Current Kentucky Poet Laureate: Crystal Wilkinson
"I hope to amplify the wondrous variety of Kentucky stories by going to libraries, either via Zoom or in-person. I'm interested in stories from different cultures." -- Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson
Contact: To request a reading or other activity, email the poet laureate at poetlaureateofkentucky@gmail.com. Include "Poet Laureate Request" in the subject line.
Source: Kentucky Arts Council
Explore Works by Kentucky Poets Laureate
Publications about Kentucky Poets
Looking for Native Ground: Contemporary Appalachian Poetry by
Fred Chappell, Jeff Daniel Marion, Jim Wayne Miller, and Robert Morgan are primarily folk artists who write poetry about people doing common, everyday tasks. Each poet in his own unique style illustrates a strong sense of place and community. All natives to the Appalachian region, these poets come from an agrarian community that they had to leave behind to enter the world of academia. Looking For Native Ground was published in 1989 comparing Chappell, Marion, Miller, and Morgan because of their place at the forefront of the regional literary movement in the 1980s.
ISBN: 9781469638461Publication Date: 1989-01-01
Blades o' Bluegrass: Choice Selections of Kentucky Poetry, Biographical Sketches and Portraits of Authors by
Free digital copy available on Explore UK. "This volume is offered as a miniature representation of Kentucky verse for the one hundred years that is has been a state. The whole field of poetry has been traversed from the pioneer days to the present time, and en effort made to have every known poet of merit represented. Besides selections made from published books, there are also many fugitive verses that never went beyond the "Poet's Corner" in a newspaper, while some are here in print for the first time." -- Preface.
Publication Date: 1892
What Comes Down to Us: 25 Contemporary Kentucky Poets by
What Comes Down To Us features twenty-five of Kentucky's most accomplished contemporary poets. Together they serve to illustrate the diversity and richness of poetry being written today in the Commonwealth. The poems were collected by Jeff Worley, a poet who has lived in Kentucky for more than two decades. Although the subject matter of the poems transcends the state's borders, the collection communicates a strong sense of Kentucky as a place. Worley's introduction places contemporary Kentucky poetry in the context of the state's rich literary tradition, and the poet biographies include their reflections and, often, their poetic approach and technique.
Publication Date: 2009
Five Kentucky Poets Laureate by
In 2008, the Kentucky Arts Council published Five Kentucky Poets Laureate: An Anthology, a collection of poetry and prose by the commonwealth's poets laureate. The anthology includes the writings of Richard Taylor (Kentucky Poet Laureate 1999-2000), James Baker Hall (2001-2002), Joe Survant (2003-2004), Sena Jeter Naslund (2005-2006), and Jane Gentry (2007-2008), and was edited by Jane Gentry and Frederick Smock with a cover illustration by photographer Geoff Carr.
Publication Date: 2008
Poets Laureate of Kentucky by
A history of Kentucky's poets laureate since 1926. Contains works by J.T. Cotton Noe, Edward Gay Hill, Louise Scott Phillips, Edwin Carlisle Litsey, Jesse Hilton Stuart, Lowell Allen Williams, Lillian D. Chaffin, Senator Tom Mobley, Agnes Todd Saffell O'Rear, Clarence "Soc" Henry Clay, Lee Pennington, Paul Salyers, Dale Faughn, Jim Wayne Miller, Henry E. Pilkenton, James H. Patton, James Still, Joy Bale Boone, Richard Lawrence Taylor, James Baker Hall and Joe Survant.
Publication Date: 2004- Looking for Native Ground: Contemporary Appalachian Poetry by
Fred Chappell, Jeff Daniel Marion, Jim Wayne Miller, and Robert Morgan are primarily folk artists who write poetry about people doing common, everyday tasks. Each poet in his own unique style illustrates a strong sense of place and community. All natives to the Appalachian region, these poets come from an agrarian community that they had to leave behind to enter the world of academia. Looking For Native Ground was published in 1989 comparing Chappell, Marion, Miller, and Morgan because of their place at the forefront of the regional literary movement in the 1980s.
ISBN: 9781469638461Publication Date: 1989-01-01
Poets Laureate
1926 - J. T. Cotton Noe
1928 - Edward G. Hill*
1942 - Louise Scott Phillips
1954 - Edwin Carlile Litsey
1954 - Jesse Hilton Stuart
1956 - Lowell Allen Williams
1974 - Lillie D. Chaffin (Associate Poet Laureate)
1976 - Senator Tom Mobley
1978 - Agnes S. O'Rear
1984 - Soc Clay
1984 - Lee Pennington
1984 - Paul Salyers
1986 - Dale Faughn
1986 - Jim Wayne Miller
1986 - Henry E. Pilkenton
1990 - James H. Patton, Jr.
1995-1996 - James Still*
1997-1998 - Joy Bale Boone*
1999-2000 - Richard Taylor*
2001-2002 - James Baker Hall*
2003-2004 - Joe Survant*
2005-2006 - Sena Jeter Naslund*
2007-2008 - Jane Gentry*
2009-2010 - Gurney Norman*
2011-2012 - Maureen Morehead*
2013-2014 - Frank X. Walker*
2015-2016 - George Ella Lyon*
2017-2018 - Frederick Smock*
2019-2020 - Jeff Worley*
2021-2022 - Crystal Wilkinson*
2023-2025 - Silas House*
*Gubernatorial Appointment
Source: Kentucky Arts Council
United States National Poets Laureate:
2022-2023, Limón, Ada
1986-1987, Robert Penn Warren
1943-1944, Allen Tate
1944-1945, Robert Penn Warren