In 2023, the Academy of American Poets awarded a combined total of $1.1 million to its 2023 Poet Laureate Fellows. These funds supported their respective public poetry programs throughout the year as presented in their proposals to the Academy. The fellowship program is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The 2023 Poet Laureate Fellows and the communities they serve are: Diannely Antigua (Portsmouth, NH); Lisa Bickmore (Utah); Jennifer Bartell Boykin (Columbia, SC); Joseph Bruchac (Saratoga Springs, NY); Lauren Camp (New Mexico); Laura Da’ (Redmond, WA); Oliver de la Paz (Worcester, MA); Farnaz Fatemi (Santa Cruz County, CA); Nicholas Gulig (Fort Atkinson, WI); Peter J. Harris and Carla Rachel Sameth (Altadena, CA); Taylor Johnson (Takoma Park, MD); Yalie Saweda Kamara (Cincinnati, OH); Brandy Nālani McDougall (Hawaiʻi); Gloria Muñoz (St. Petersburg, FL); Sharon Kennedy-Nolle (Sullivan County, NY); Shin Yu Pai (Seattle, WA); Willie Perdomo (New York); Jason Magabo Perez (San Diego, CA); Glenis Redmond (Greenville, SC); Erin Elizabeth Smith (Oak Ridge, TN); Junious Ward (Charlotte, NC); and Joaquín Zihuatanejo (Dallas, TX).
Learn more about the 2023 Poet Laureate Fellows, their communities, fellowship projects, writing practices, and thoughts on poetry, by reading these interviews and essays from their fellowship year.
![LIsa Bickmore](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Lisa%20Bickmore%20%28photo%20credit%20David%20Hyams%29.png?itok=IaiDHS30)
Poet Laureate Fellow Interview: Lisa Bickmore
![Jennifer Bartell Boykin](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/1%20-%20Jennifer%20Bartell%20Boykin%20%28photo%20credit%20Lester%20Boykin%29.png?itok=Z-L9ZmAP)
Poet Laureate Fellow Interview: Jennifer Bartell Boykin
![Joseph Bruchac](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Joseph%20Bruchac%20%28photo%20credit%20Eric%20Jenks%29%20-%201.png?itok=EuKOCJvV)
Poet Laureate Fellow Interview: Joseph Bruchac
![Lauren Camp](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/2%20-%20Lauren%20Camp%20%28photo%20credit%20D.%20Camp%29.png?itok=tC5ZAxHX)
Poet Laureate Fellow Interview: Lauren Camp
![Laura Da'](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Laura%20Da%27%20%28photo%20credit%20Timothy%20Aguero%29.png?itok=tb9oEOEh)
Poet Laureate Fellow Interview: Laura Da’
![Oliver de la Paz](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Screen%20Shot%202024-05-30%20at%204.42.53%20PM.png?itok=dQ4t222f)
Poet Laureate Fellow Interview: Oliver de la Paz
![Nicholas Gulig](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Nicholas-Gulig-Wisconsin-Poet-Laureate.jpg?itok=IuN9z82I)
On Poetry and Community: Nicholas Gulig
At the age of forty-three, in what is, I hope, the middle of my life, I became the tenth poet laureate of the s
![Peter J. Harris](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/peterharris%20%281%29.png?itok=SE1Z0jrO)
On Poetry and Community: Peter J. Harris
![Carla Rachel Sameth](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Carla%20Sameth%20%28photo%20credit%20Hilary%20Jones%29.png?itok=xoqUO_WT)
On Poetry and Community: Carla Rachel Sameth
Usually, I am one to find the thread of dark humor even in the worst of circumstances.
![Sharon Kennedy-Nolle](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Sharon%20Kennedy-Nolle%20%28photo%20credit%20Frances%20F.%20Denny%29.png?itok=POzyc5Fm)
Poet Laureate Fellow Interview: Sharon Kennedy-Nolle
![Shin Yu Pai](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/shin_yu_2019.png?itok=63ZJ7mGX)
Poet Laureate Fellows Interviews: Shin Yu Pai
![Willie Perdomo](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Willie%20Perdomo%20%28photo%20credit%20Sandra%20Guzman%29.png?itok=4ulbodYF)
On Poetry and Community: Willie Perdomo
![Jason Magabo Perez](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/1%20-%20Jason%20Magabo%20Perez%20%28photo%20credit%20CSUSM%29.png?itok=7sZkQprz)
On Poetry and Community: Jason Magabo Perez
![Erin Elizabeth Smith](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Erin%20Elizabeth%20Smith%20%28photo%20credit%20Joe%20Minarick%29.png?itok=kB5GXYNN)
On Poetry & Community: Erin Elizabeth Smith
![Joaquín Zihuatanejo](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Joaqui%CC%81nZihuatanejo_BioImage_0.png?itok=yU4xWK3c)
On Poetry and Community: Joaquín Zihuatanejo
When I applied to be the inaugural poet laureate of Dallas, I did so with the idea of service in mind.
![Gloria Muñoz](/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/images/Gloria%20Mun%CC%83oz%20%28photo%20credit%20Stephen%20Zane%29.png?itok=bo6W1-eO)