Carrboro Looking for New Poet Laureate; Applications Open Now

As the term of current Carrboro Poet Laureate Fred Joiner enters its final months, the town government is seeking applicants to take up the role.

The Town of Carrboro shared a release on Monday asking for applications to the position of poet laureate for a two-year term beginning on January 1, 2023. Joiner, who is the 2019 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow and is a Chapel Hill-Carrboro resident, began serving in the role in early 2019.

Fred Joiner is a poet and curator based in Chapel Hill, NC. He is 2019 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow and the current Poet Laureate for the Town of Carrboro.

Carrboro established its poet laureate program in 2002 to “enhance the presence of poetry in the social and civic life” of the town and its residents. The position, which receives an annual honorarium of $2,500, works with the Carrboro Poets Council and participates in readings at various town events. The town poet laureate does outreach to the local school district and plans the yearly West End Poetry Festival with the Carrboro’s Recreation, Parks & Cultural Resources Department. Additionally, the poet often orchestrates and leads weekly poetry readings at the start of Carrboro Town Council meetings.

The Carrboro Arts Committee says residency in the town is preferable for candidates, but not required for the position. Applicants must, however, have a personal or professional connection to Carrboro.

Community members who are interested in applying for the Carrboro Poet Laureate role should be a poet with “little, some or substantial work published” and who have active projects in the last five years. Applications must include samples of original written works, limited to ten pieces or ten pages of poetry, plays, fiction, interviews and more.

Applications for the Carrboro Poet Laureate position can be found on the town government’s website, while anyone with questions regarding the application can email arts@carrboronc.gov or call 919-918-7377. The application period will close on Wednesday, August 31, with finalists for the role going through interviews in September and October.

Photo via the Town of Carrboro Recreation, Parks, & Cultural Resources Department.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

Carrboro Looking for New Poet Laureate; Applications Open Now

On Air Now: 97.9 FM