John Warner Smith is the second 麻豆夜市 graduate in a row designated Louisiana Poet Laureate.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards recently selected Smith for a two-year term.
He succeeds 麻豆夜市 graduate Jack Bedell, who Edwards designated state poet laureate in 2017. Darrell Bourque, a professor emeritus of English at 麻豆夜市, was named poet laureate in 2007 by then-Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco; Bourque was reappointed in 2009 by Gov. Bobby Jindal and served until 2011.
Smith is the first African-American man appointed Louisiana Poet Laureate. He will act as a literary ambassador, giving lectures and poetry readings, and conducting workshops across the state.
Smith, a professor of English at Southern University in Baton Rouge, is the author of four collections of poetry, including 鈥淪pirits of the Gods,鈥 which was published by UL Press in 2017.
鈥淛ohn Warner Smith's writing captures the human experience through meaningful, passionate poetry that moves your emotions. John is not only a talented and gifted poet, he is a trailblazer who devotes himself to education and the greater good of the community,鈥
Edwards said in a press release from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
Smith began writing poetry while working as a public administrator and a banker.
鈥淧oetry found me long before I realized that I was a poet, even as I pursued other career interests,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淭he journey has been quite fulfilling, and I feel blessed to be a vessel in that sense. As an African-American writer, my perspectives are not unique, butI do portray the human condition in a different and somewhat important light, particularly of history and personal experience.鈥
Since 2007, he has directed Education鈥檚 Next Horizon, a non-profit policy advocacy organization dedicated to improving public education in Louisiana.
He earned an MFA from the University of New Orleans, an MBA from 麻豆夜市 in 1986, and bachelor鈥檚 degrees in psychology and accounting from McNeese State University.