The Poet Laureate of Iowa is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Iowa. The position was created July 1, 1999 by Subchapter 303.89 of the Iowa Code with a two-year renewable term. [1]
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.
Mona Jane Van Duyn was an American poet. She was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1992.
Theodore J. Kooser is an American poet. He won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2005. He served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 to 2006. Kooser was one of the first poets laureate selected from the Great Plains, and is known for his conversational style of poetry.
Donald Rodney Justice was an American poet and teacher of creative writing who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1980.
Marvin Hartley Bell was an American poet and teacher who was the first Poet Laureate of the state of Iowa.
Mary Swander is an American author of Irish heritage. She holds dual citizenship in Ireland and the United States. Born in Carroll, Iowa, her ancestors immigrated to the United States during the Great Famine of Ireland. Swander taught for a decade on the island of Inishbofin, County Galway.
Robert Dana was an American poet, who taught writing and English literature at Cornell College and many other schools, revived The North American Review and served as its editor during the years 1964–1968, and was the poet laureate for the State of Iowa from 2004 to 2008.
Vince Gotera is an American poet and writer, best known as Editor of the North American Review. In 1996, Nick Carbó called him a "leading Filipino-American poet of this generation"; later, in 2004, Carbó described him as "one of the leading Asian American poets ... willing to take a stance against American imperialism."
Pecan Grove Press publishes primarily poetry books and chapbooks. Though sponsored by the Department of English and The Academic Library of St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, the press is self-supporting. Founded in 1988 by St. Mary's faculty member, Karen Navarte, Pecan Grove Press has served poets for more than 20 years. It receives approximately 300 manuscripts for consideration yearly and has produced more than 110 books. Although the press's scope includes poets from across the state of Texas and as far away as Canada, it remains true to its roots by continuing to publish at least one San Antonio poet each year.
The North American Review(NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived at Cornell College in Iowa under Robert Dana in 1964. Since 1968, the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls has been home to the publication. Nineteenth-century archives are freely available via Cornell University's Making of America.
Kelly Cherry was an American novelist, poet, essayist, professor, and literary critic and a former Poet Laureate of Virginia (2010–2012). She was the author of more than 30 books, including the poetry collections Songs for a Soviet Composer, Death and Transfiguration, Rising Venus and The Retreats of Thought. Her short fiction was reprinted in The Best American Short Stories, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, The Pushcart Prize, and New Stories from the South, and won a number of awards.
The Poet Laureate of Texas is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Texas.
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.
The Poet Laureate of Connecticut is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Connecticut. The Poet Laureate of Connecticut was established in 1985 by Public Act 85-221 of the Connecticut General Assembly. Five-year residents of the state with a demonstrated career in poetry are eligible for the honorary appointment as an advocate for poetry and literary arts.
The Poet Laureate of Idaho or Writer in Residence is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Idaho. After 1982 the title was changed to Writer in Residence.
The State Poet of Rhode Island is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The program was established in 1987, is codified in Chapter 42-100 of the State of Rhode Island General Laws. The five-year appointment by the Governor carries an annual salary of $1,000.
The Poet Laureate of Montana is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Montana. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer signed Senate Bill 69 into law in 2005, creating the position.