N Carolina’s Poet Laureate Receives National Award of $75K

North Carolina’s poet laureate is one of 13 in the country to receive the first Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow awards.

The North Carolina Arts Council says in a news release that Jaki Shelton Green will receive $75,000 in recognition of her literary merit and to support her youth poet program.

Green plans to launch “Literary ChangeMakers” to support youth poets engaged artistically in civic and community activism, social justice and youth leadership.

The 65-year-old Green is North Carolina’s first black state poet laureate. She told The News & Observer of Raleigh last year that she wants to bring poetry to marginalized communities.

Awards of $50,000 to $100,000 each were given to poets in Maryland, California, Washington state, South Carolina, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

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This week’s Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Jaki Shelton Green, the new poet laureate for North Carolina. “Jaki Shelton Green brings a deep appreciation of our state’s diverse communities to her role as an ambassador of North Carolina literature,” Governor Roy Cooper said in a release announcing the designation. “Jaki’s appointment is a […]

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