Southeastern writer-in-residence Alison Pelegrin is the 2023-2025 Poet Laureate for Louisiana. Pelegrin assumed the post on August 14 and will serve for two years.
“The Poet Laureate acts as Louisiana’s literary ambassador, and Alison’s long record of teaching, sharing, and producing poetry that engages readers makes her a perfect fit as the preeminent poet of our state,” said Governor John Bel Edwards. “Her work is both beautifully crafted and appeals to a broad range of readers, and it will undoubtedly help elevate poetry in the public consciousness. She has been celebrated both statewide and nationally for good reason. Congratulations to Alison on this well-deserved honor.”
Pelegrin, a Covington resident, is the author of Our Lady of Bewilderment (2022); Waterlines (2016); Hurricane Party (2011); and Big Muddy River of Stars (2007), which was the winner of the 2006 Akron Poetry Prize. Her chapbook Our Lady of the Flood won the Diode 2018 chapbook prize and an Eric Hoffer Award.
Pelegrin is the recipient of a literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and an ATLAS Grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents. Her work has appeared in Bennington Review, The Southern Review, and Ninth Letter, and as printable broadsides at Broadsided.
As Louisiana Poet Laureate, Pelegrin will travel the state encouraging fellow Louisianans to explore and engage
with poetry.
The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities is charged with overseeing the Poet Laureate process. According to selection guidelines, nominees must have published works in books, anthologies, literary journals, or magazines. In addition, the selection committee must seek information from the general public and the literary community. The committee must select nominees who reflect the diverse cultures and heritage of Louisiana.
