Kentucky

Current Laureate:
Frank X. Walker

Start of Term:
January 2013 (formally inducted April 24, 2013)

Position History:
Position established 1926 by act of the General Assembly. First laureate was James T. Cotton Noe. Prior to 1990, poets were appointed by the General Assembly to lifetime terms, and several poets held the position simultaneously. In 1990, new legislation (Kentucky Code, Sec. 153.600) provided for appointment by the governor to a two-year term. Additional information about the position is available through the Kentucky Arts Council Web site.

Previous Laureates:
James Thomas Cotton Noe (March 1926-Nov. 9, 1953)
Edward G. Hill (Oct 1., 1928-Nov. 8, 1937)
Louise Scott Phillips (1945-1983)
Edwin Carlisle Litsey (1954-Feb. 3, 1970)
Jesse Hilton Stuart (1954-1984)
Lowell Allen Williams (appointed 1956)
Lillie D. Chaffin (appointed 1974)
Tom Mobley (appointed 1976)
Agnes O'Rear (March 7, 1978-1990)
Clarence "Soc" Clay (appointed 1984)
Lee Pennington (appointed 1984)
Paul Salyers (appointed 1984)
Dale Faughn (appointed 1986)
Jim Wayne Miller (appointed 1986)
Henry E. Pilkenton (appointed 1986)
James H. Patton (appointed 1990)
James Still (1995-1996)
Joy Bale Boone (1997-1998)
Richard Taylor (1999-2000)
James Baker Hall (2001-2002)
Joe Survant (2003-2004)
Sena Jeter Naslund (2005-2006)
Jane Gentry Vance (2007-2008)
Gurney Norman (2009-2010)
Maureen Morehead (2011-2012)

Further Resources:

• Publications by Frank X. Walker in the Library's online catalog.
• Brief biographies of previous poets laureate through 2003 can be found through an archived page on the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives Web site. A list of previous poets laureate also can be found through the Kentucky Arts Council Web site. A more detailed history of the laureateship, along with biographies of laureates and samples of their poetry, can be found in Betty J. Sparks, Poets Laureate of Kentucky (Nicholasville, Ky.: Wind Publications, 2004).
• A collection of teacher resources is available to accompany the print publication Five Kentucky Poets Laureate: An Anthology (Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky Arts Council, 2008).

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