The North Carolina Poet Laureate is the poet laureate for the US state of North Carolina. At first a life appointment, the term of office is now two years. [1] The program is run by the North Carolina Arts Council. Laureates are appointed by the Governor of North Carolina.
Many years before the position was established, poet and journalist John Charles McNeill was unofficially called North Carolina's Poet Laureate [2] and while official permission from the legislature to name a poet laureate came in 1935, no one was actually appointed to the position until 1948. [1] A joint resolution of the North Carolina General Assembly created the office, giving the Governor of North Carolina the power "to name and appoint some outstanding and distinguished man of letters as poet-laureate for North Carolina." [3]
Changes to the position began in 1997 when Governor Jim Hunt appointed Fred Chappell as poet laureate, changing the term of office from a lifetime appointment to a term of five years. Hunt stated that he did this because the state had many quality poets. [4] Lisbeth Evans, Secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources (which oversees the NC Arts Council), organized a committee in 2004 to update the guidelines of the resolution. These guidelines, which detailed the office's appointment requirements and made them gender-neutral, would be non-binding. [3]
The office-holder becomes an "ambassador of N.C. literature" and is free to create his or her own long-term projects. The position requires the laureate to participate in various literary activities across the state, working with "schools, community groups, and the press." [5] The North Carolina Poetry Society also has the poet laureate select the winner of the Poet Laureate Award. [6]
The poet laureate receives a stipend of $10,000 and clerical assistance from the NC Arts Council. [7]
The following is a list of North Carolina poets laureate. [8]
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) of Arezzo were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age, respectively in 1315 and 1342. In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. The royal office of Poet Laureate in England dates from the appointment of John Dryden in 1668.
Walter H. Dalton is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he served six terms in the state senate before his election to the office of lieutenant governor in 2008.
Patrick Lloyd McCrory is an American politician, businessman, and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd Mayor of Charlotte from 1995 to 2009.
The 2008 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2008, coinciding with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House elections, Council of State and statewide judicial elections. Democrat Bev Perdue won the election. With a margin of 3.39%, this election was the closest race of the 2008 gubernatorial election cycle.
North Carolina elections to choose members of the Council of State were held November 4, 2008. This coincided with the presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial, and statewide judicial elections.
James Carson Gardner is an American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative (1967–1969) and as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina (1989–1993).
The Sam Ragan Awards are an annual fine arts award presented by St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The award honors Sam Ragan who was a North Carolina Poet Laureate and North Carolina's first Secretary of Cultural Resources. It is presented annually for "outstanding contributions to the Fine Arts of North Carolina over an extended period--including, but above and beyond--the recipient's own primary commitment."
Jaki Shelton Green is an American poet. In November 2009, she was named the first Piedmont Laureate by a collection of Triangle-area arts councils. She currently resides in Mebane, North Carolina. Green teaches Documentary Poetry at Duke University within the Center for Documentary Studies.
The 2012 North Carolina gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 United States presidential election, U.S. House election, statewide judicial election, Council of State election and various local elections.
Beverly Eaves Perdue is an American businesswoman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 73rd governor of North Carolina from 2009 to 2013. She was the first female governor of North Carolina.
Kathryn Stripling Byer, also called Kay Byer, was an American poet and teacher. She was named by Governor Mike Easley as the fifth North Carolina Poet Laureate from 2005 to 2009. She was the first woman to hold the position.
Cathy Smith Bowers is an American poet and professor. She teaches poetry in an M.F.A. program at Queens University of Charlotte. Bowers was named by Governor Bev Perdue as the sixth North Carolina Poet Laureate, 2010–2012. She has published five collections of poetry.
Joseph Bathanti is an American poet, novelist and professor. He was named by Governor Bev Perdue as the seventh North Carolina Poet Laureate, 2012–2014.
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources is a cabinet-level department within the state government of North Carolina dedicated to overseeing projects in the arts, culture, and history within the borders of the state. The current Secretary of Natural and Cultural Resources, the cabinet-level officer who oversees the department, is D. Reid Wilson. Wilson has been in office since January 2021 and was immediately preceded by Susi Hamilton, who served as secretary from 2017 to 2020
Four justices of the seven-member North Carolina Supreme Court and four judges of the 15-member North Carolina Court of Appeals were elected by North Carolina voters on November 4, 2014, concurrently with other state elections. Terms for seats on each court are eight years.
Valerie Macon is an American civil servant and poet. She was named by Governor Pat McCrory as the eighth North Carolina Poet Laureate, a position she was set to hold from 2014 to 2016. Appointed on July 11, 2014, she resigned on July 17, 2014 amid controversy over the appointment. Macon continues to work for the state's Department of Health and Human Services as a Disability Examiner. Her two books of poetry prior to her appointment to North Carolina poet laureate were self-published in 2011 and 2014.
Shelby Stephenson is an American poet. On December 22, 2014, he was named by Governor Pat McCrory as the ninth North Carolina Poet Laureate, a position he held from 2014 to 2016.
Theodore Garmon "Wes" Westmoreland, II is a printer, entrepreneur, businessman and former state senator. Westmoreland was appointed to the North Carolina Senate by Governor Beverly Perdue to fill the unexpired term of North Carolina Senator Debbie Clary in 2012. He is the second great grandson of John Franklin Westmoreland, also a printer, who also served in the North Carolina Senate 26th District from 1895 through 1896. Westmoreland is the founder and president of Westmoreland Printers, Inc. based in Shelby, North Carolina. He is a founding board member of Pinnacle Classical Academy, a college preparatory charter school in Cleveland County.
The literature of North Carolina, USA, includes fiction, poetry, and varieties of nonfiction. Representative authors include playwright Paul Green, short-story writer O. Henry, and novelist Thomas Wolfe.
