Poet Laureate of Kentucky

Poet Laureate of Kentucky is a title awarded to a Kentucky poet by the state's Art Council. In 2013, the position was occupied by Frank X Walker, the first African-American to be so honored.^[1][2]

The poet laureate position was established 1926 by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly. James T. Cotton Noe was the first laureate. Originally appointed to lifetime terms, following 1990 legislation laureates have been appointed by the governor to two-year terms.^[3]

List of poets laureate

Gurney Norman was poet laureate in 2009.

Frank X Walker was poet laureate in 2013.

Poets laureate of Kentucky include:^[3][4][5]

#	Poet laureate	Term began	Term ended	Appointed by	Notes
1	James Thomas "Cotton" Noe	March 1926	9 November 1953 (death)	legislature	[5][3]
2	Edward G. Hill	1 October 1928	8 November 1937 (death)	legislature	[5][3]
3	Louise Scott Phillips	1945	1983 (death)	legislature	[5][3]
4	Edwin Carlisle Litsey	1954	3 February 1970 (death)	legislature	[5][3]
5	Jesse Hilton Stuart	1954	1984 (death)	legislature	[5][3]
6	Lowell Allen Williams	1956	–	legislature	[5][3]
7	Lillie D. Chaffin	1974	–	legislature	[5][3]
8	Tom Mobley	1976	–	legislature	[5][3]
9	Agnes O'Rear	7 March 1978	1990 (death)	legislature	[5][3]
10	Clarence "Soc" Clay	1984	–	legislature	[5][3]
11	Lee Pennington	1984	–	legislature	[5][3]
12	Paul Salyers	1984	–	legislature	[5][3]
13	Dale Faughn	1986	–	legislature	[5][3]
14	Jim Wayne Miller	1986	–	legislature	[5][3]
15	Henry E. Pilkenton	1986	–	legislature	[5][3]
16	James H. Patton Jr.	1990	–	legislature	[5][3]
17	James Still	1995	1996	–	[5][3]
18	Joy Bale Boone	1997	1998	–	[5][3]
19	Richard Taylor	1999	2000	–	[5][3]
20	James Baker Hall	2001	2002	–	[5][3]
21	Joe Survant	2003	2004	–	[5][3]
22	Sena Jeter Naslund	2005	2006	–	[5][3]
23	Jane Gentry Vance	2007	2008	–	[5][3]
24	Gurney Norman	2009	2010	–	[5][3]
25	Maureen Morehead	2011	2012	–	[5][3]
26	Frank X Walker	January 2013	2014	–	[5][3] [6][7]
27	George Ella Lyon	2015	2016	–	[5][3]
28	Frederick Smock	May 1, 2017	2018		[8]
29	Jeff Worley	2019	2020	Matt Bevin	[9]
30	Crystal Wilkinson	2021	2022		[10][11]
31	Silas House	2023	2024	Andy Beshear	[12]
32	Kathleen Driskell	2025	2026	Andy Beshear	[13]

See also

• Poetry portal