Press Author Named Indiana Poet Laureate

Norbert Krapf, author of the IHS Press book The Ripest Moments: A Southern Indiana Childhood, has been named Indiana Poet Laureate by the Indiana Arts Commission. Krapf discusses his appointment on his web site.

According to the IAC, former State Treasurer Joyce Brinkman was named Indiana's first official Poet Laureate by House Resolution in 2002. After researching other states Poet Laureate selection process and duties, the Indiana Arts Commission, Ms. Brinkman, and Senator Theresa Lubbers developed Senate Bill 433, which formalized the Poet Laureate for Indiana.

IAC is charged with selecting the Poet Laureate, providing an annual stipend and per diem, and working with the State Department of Education in scheduling appearances.

The Indiana Poet Laureate official duties include:

* Making presentations at schools, libraries, and other educational facilities
* Promoting poetry and writing to schools and communities across the state
* Providing advice on how to promote poetry and writing to the IAC and other organizations

Krapf's poetry collections include Somewhere in Southern Indiana, The Country I Come From, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, Looking for God's Country, Invisible Presence: A Walk through Indiana in Photographs and Poems, and Bloodroot: New and Selected Indiana Poems.