INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (ADAMS) – The Indiana Arts Commission announced Thursday that Curtis L. Crisler has been named the Indiana Poet Laureate. Crisler is the eighth Hoosier named to this honorary position and succeeds Matthew Graham, who has held the role since 2020.
Crisler was chosen by a selection committee that included seven representatives of Indiana’s colleges and universities as well as the Indiana Arts Commission Executive Director.
The Indiana Arts Commission released the following:
Crisler was chosen by a selection committee that included seven representatives of Indiana’s colleges and universities as well as the Indiana Arts Commission Executive Director.
Crisler was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. He received a BA in English, with a minor in Theatre, from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, now Purdue Fort Wayne, and he received his MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. An award-winning poet and author, Crisler’s Doing Drive-Bys on How to Love in the Midwest won the C&R Press Award for poetry. He has published numerous other poetry books, young adult books, poetry chapbooks, been anthologized in many publications, and published in a variety of magazines and journals.
He is Professor of English at Purdue University Fort Wayne.
Established in 2005, the Poet Laureate program is meant to bring poetry to every corner of the state. As Poet Laureate, Crisler will make appearances at schools and libraries, offer guidance to the Indiana Arts Commission concerning ways to further the art of poetry in Indiana, and represent Indiana and the art of poetry to the community and public.
Visit Crisler’s website to learn more.
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