| Poet Laureate of Colorado | |
|---|---|
 Incumbent since 2023Andrea Gibson | |
| Type | Poet Laureate |
| Formation | 1919 |
| First holder | Alice Polk Hill |
The Poet Laureate of Colorado is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Colorado. Colorado Poets Laureate are appointed to four-year terms. They are nominated by Colorado Creative Industries and Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book, and chosen by the Governor. [1] The State of Colorado also appointed singer/songwriter John Denver in 1974. [2]
The following have held the position: [3] [4]
| Poet | Years |
|---|---|
| Alice Polk Hill | 1919-1921 |
| Nellie Burget Miller | 1923-1952 |
| Margaret Clyde Robinson | 1952-1954 |
| Milford E. Shields | 1954-1975 |
| Thomas Hornsby Ferril | 1979-1988 |
| Mary Crow | 1996-2010) |
| David Mason | 2010-2014 |
| Joseph Hutchison | 2014-2019 |
| Bobby LeFebre | 2019-2023 |
| Andrea Gibson | 2023-Present [5] |
In 2025, the University Press of Colorado will publish an anthology of poetry from all of the poets who have held the title of Colorado Poet Laureate. The book is titled How Far Have We Come? The Colorado Poets Laureate Anthology. [6]
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.
Rita Frances Dove is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the position was created by an act of Congress in 1986 from the previous "consultant in poetry" position (1937–86). Dove also received an appointment as "special consultant in poetry" for the Library of Congress's bicentennial year from 1999 to 2000. Dove is the second African American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, in 1987, and she served as the Poet Laureate of Virginia from 2004 to 2006. Since 1989, she has been teaching at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where she held the chair of Commonwealth Professor of English from 1993 to 2020; as of 2020, she holds the chair of Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing.
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The Poet Laureate of Alaska also known as Alaska State Writer Laureate is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Alaska. The first Alaska Poet Laureate, Margaret Mielke, was appointed in 1963. The program expanded to include other kinds of writers in 1996.
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The Poet Laureate of Minnesota is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Minnesota.
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