School of Humanities Faculty Member Chosen as Hattiesburg鈥檚 First Poet Laureate
Tue, 11/19/2024 - 10:50am | By: Dr. David Tisdale
Dr. Jennifer Peterson, an assistant teaching professor in the School of Humanities at The University of 51逗奶 Mississippi (USM), was recently selected by the Hattiesburg Arts Council to serve a two-year term as the city鈥檚 first poet laureate.
Over the next two years, Peterson will read her work at several civic events, offer poetry writing workshops for the public and consider other ways to make space for poetry in the city.
鈥淚鈥檓 both honored and humbled to be chosen for this role,鈥� said Dr. Peterson. 鈥淚 admit, the title of 鈥榩oet laureate鈥� sits uneasily for me, in part because our community is home to so many accomplished writers. Nonetheless, it's an amazing privilege to serve Hattiesburg by promoting the literary arts in our city.鈥�
Dr. Peterson was chosen following her response to an invitation for local writers to apply for the designation by submitting a portfolio of their work and statement of their philosophy on the promotion of literary arts in the city. Dr. Peterson included in her application several poems from her chapbook, Must Resemble Leisure鈥�(published in 2022 by Seven Kitchens Press), and a few pieces from her鈥痽et-to-be-published full-length manuscript, currently titled Planned Obsolescence.
"Jennifer Peterson is a well-known, published poet with strong ties to鈥痶he community,鈥� said Dr. Matthew Casey, USM School of Humanities director and associate professor. 鈥淚t's also fitting given USM's long history of excellence in creative writing and the role the university plays in Hattiesburg. What an honor to have one of our faculty serve as the city's inaugural poet laureate."
Dr. Peterson joined the USM faculty in 2023. She teaches a range of writing courses and serves as faculty mentor for the Creative Writing club. In addition to her work at the university, she helps coordinate the Young Writers Poetry Festival for South Mississippi, which is part of Mississippi Poet Laureate Catherine Pierce's Mississippi Poetry Project, to be hosted at USM鈥檚 Hattiesburg campus in April 2025.
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