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The Selection Committee is delighted to announce that the position of third Poet Laureate of Silver City and Grant County will be shared by Beate Sigriddaughter and Jack Crocker.

Beate Sigriddaughter reads at an event in February 2015.
Beate Sigriddaughter
Photo courtesy Silver City Public Library

This honorary position is awarded to a person who has established a presence in the world of poetry, has demonstrated a commitment to the literary art form, and who embraces the opportunity to engage in civil discourse.

Following the tenure of Elise Stuart as second Poet Laureate, the committee received several applications for the role, of which these two were outstanding. After interviewing both candidates, the committee decided unanimously to offer them the position in tandem. This unprecedented move will allow Crocker and Sigriddaughter to share the load of spreading poetry to the community.

Beate Sigriddaughter, originally from Germany, has published dozens of poems and short stories as well as novels, the most recent of which is Audrey: A Book of Love. Sigriddaughter has a website – Writing In A Woman’s Voice – which publishes novice and experienced women writers. She believes “poetry really does matter. Almost everybody I know seems to remember some poetry that has at some point provided meaningful comfort.”

Jack Crocker
Jack Crocker, courtesy photo

Jack Crocker’s poems have appeared in a variety of journals, and his latest collection, The Last Resort, was published in 2009 by the Texas Review Press. Crocker is also a musician. He once signed a recording and songwriting contract with Fretone Records in Memphis, but decided instead to become an English professor. Currently, he is Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Western New Mexico University.

The poets will serve a two-year term, beginning May 1st 2017, with an option for a third year if mutually agreed. The Poet Laureate program is run by the Southwest Festival of the Written Word.

Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Southwest Word Fiesta™ or its steering committee.

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We respectfully acknowledge that the entirety of southwestern New Mexico is the traditional territory, since time immemorial, of the Chis-Nde, also known as the people of the Chiricahua Apache Nation. The Chiricahua Apache Nation is recognized as a sovereign Native Nation by the United States in the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Friendship of 1 July 1852 (10 Stat. 979) (Treaty of Santa Fe ratified 23 March 1853 and proclaimed by President Franklin Pierce 25 March 1853).

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