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Montana Poet Laureate

About the Montana Poet Laureate Position

What is the Montana Poet Laureate Position?

The Montana Poet Laureate recognizes and honors a citizen poet of exceptional talent and accomplishment. The Poet Laureate also encourages appreciation of poetry and literary life in Montana. This position was created by the state legislature in 2005.

Sandra Alcosser was the first Montana Poet Laureate. Greg Pape was selected as the second Poet Laureate, serving through the summer of 2009. Henry Real Bird was named the third Montana Poet Laureate in September 2009.

What is the Term of Service and Compensation?

The term of service is for two years. The award is honorific. A poet who has served as Poet Laureate may not be re-nominated.

Who is eligible to be nominated Poet Laureate of Montana?

Any citizen of the state of Montana may nominate a poet for the Poet Laureate position. A poet may not self-nominate him or herself, and no award will be given posthumously. Nominations for Poet Laureate of Montana will be accepted for Montana poets who meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Resident of Montana for at least one year
  • Applicant and nominee must be at least 21 years old
  • At least one book of poetry published, which may be self-published, but not by a vanity press. A vanity press is defined as one that does any of the following: requires individual writers to pay for part or all of the publication costs, asks writers to buy or sell copies of the publication, publishes the work of anyone who subscribes to the publication or joins the organization through membership fees, publishes the work of anyone who buys an advertisement in the publication, or publishes work without competitive selection
  • Must not be enrolled in an undergraduate degree-seeking program
  • Must not be self-nominated
  • Must not be a member or staff member of the Montana Arts Council or their immediate family or household
  • No posthumous awards
  • The recipient of the position of Poet Laureate of Montana must have produced work of the highest caliber and critical acclaim and have contributed substantial service to the development of the literary arts as demonstrated by the submitted application
  • The subject of the work submitted may be on any topic, although consideration will be give to works representative of Montana and its cultures

What is the selection process for the Poet Laureate?

Nominations are now closed for Montana's 2009 – 2011 Poet Laureate. A panel drawn from members of the literary community will select three finalists from among the nominations received. A legislator and member of the Governor's staff will also be asked to join the panel. The three finalist nominations selected by the panel will be submitted to the Montana Arts Council for review and approval. The Poet Laureate of Montana will then be chosen by the Governor from among the nominees.

What are the obligations of the Poet Laureate?

The arts council will host a public ceremony honoring the new Poet Laureate at the State Capitol. Humanities Montana will also invite the Poet Laureate to join its Speaker's Bureau program.

How will Poet Laureate nominations be evaluated?

The Poet Laureate will be chosen on the basis of three criteria:

  • Excellence as evidenced by the submitted poetry sample
  • Exemplary professionalism as evidenced by an established history of substantial and significant publication in journals and books including at least one book of poems published by a commercial or small press (not a vanity press–see eligibility requirements) and special honors, awards, fellowships, or other recognition
  • Advancement of poetry in Montana communities as evidenced by: an established history of activity in Montana's literary community through readings, publications, public presentations and/or teaching

To be accepted for consideration nominations must include the following:

  1. Completed nomination forms (available below), signed by nominator and nominated poet that include a binding statement that the poetry samples are the nominee's and the materials submitted are true and complete.
  2. A cover letter from the nominator of no more than two pages providing the following information:
    • Name of the nominee
    • A short biography of the nominated poet
    • A summary of significant awards and published works
    • The poet nominee's resume
  3. A summary of no more than one page indicating
    • Why the nominator considers the writing of the nominated poet to be of the highest quality
    • How the nominated poet has advanced the field of poetry in Montana
  4. A work sample of no more than ten poems. Submissions may not exceed 15 continuously numbered 8 ½" x 11" pages (one side), no less than 12- point type. Please provide copyright information where appropriate; all submissions become part of the public record. Both published and non-published poetry may be submitted. All submissions must be in manuscript form and either computer-generated or machine typed. Materials hand-written or produced with a dot-matrix printer will NOT be accepted.
  5. A recent photo (head-shot) of the nominee to be used for publicity purposes.
  6. Signed copies of both the "Nominator" and the "Nominee" forms provided at the end of this document.

NOTE: Submit a total of six copies of the above materials: one complete original nomination (nomination form with original signatures plus support materials) and five copies. Only ONE photograph is required. All materials submitted must be in 12-point type or larger. Do not use plastic sleeves, cover sheets or comb or spiral binding, pocket folders or other presentation materials; all applications are 3-holed punched and placed in ring binders with other poet's applications. Materials should be on 8-1/2" X 11" paper (one-sided) with room for 3-hole punching. All materials should be collated into six(6) complete and sequential applications.

Re-nomination of Previously Nominated Poets

Nominations are not carried over in future years. If you wish to nominate someone who has been nominated before, a new nomination application and materials must be submitted.

Nominator and Nominee Forms

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Mail nominations to:
Poet Laureate Program, Montana Arts Council,
P. O. Box 202201, Helena MT 59620-2201

Land address for other delivery (UPS, FedEx, hand delivery):
Poet Laureate Program, Montana Arts Council,
830 N. Warren Street, Helena MT 59620

For further information, contact

Kim Baraby Hurtle, Executive Assistant, Montana Arts Council, 406-444-6639; email: khurtle@mt.gov

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