NH Arts - Poet Laureate

Patricia Fargnoli, Walpole

Following a recommendation from the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, Governor John Lynch has appointed Patricia Fargnoli, of Walpole to serve as the new Poet Laureate of the State of New Hampshire . The previous laureate, Cynthia Huntington, emigrated to Vermont this fall, resigning with more than three years left in her five-year term.

Click here to visit Patricia Fargnoli's official website

New Hampshire Poet Showcase
From Pat Fargnoli

"At my request, The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts is providing me with a link from this page in order that I may showcase poems by a number of New Hampshire Poets. The poets will be by my invitation only…A different poet and poem will be presented every 2 weeks."

NH Poet Laureate Pat Fargnoli's bi-weekly Poet Showcase

The title of poet laureate comes with no compensation per stanza or promotional event, and is accompanied by no specific duties. But Fargnoli plans to use the title to introduce the craft to more children and adults.

"My main interest outside of writing is to bring poetry to other people, to have other people love poetry as much as I love it," she said.

Fargnoli began studying and writing poetry seriously about 30 years ago. Fargnoli moved from Connecticut to New Hampshire about 13 years ago. With her three children grown, she arrived alone and quickly found family among fellow writers. She became a member of the Monadnock Writers' Group has taught for the New Hampshire Writers' Project as well as resident faculty member at the Frost Place in Franconia.

In 1999, a collection of her poems called Necessary Light won the May Swenson Poetry Prize, chosen by poet Mary Oliver. The reward was to be published by Utah State University Press. Her latest book, Duties of the Spirit (Tupelo Press 2005) is the winner of the prestigious 2005 Jane Kenyon Poetry Book Award for Outstanding Poetry published by a New Hampshire author in the preceding two years.

A Fellow at the MacDowell Colony, and a frequent resident at The Dorset Colony in Vermont , she was on the faculty of The Frost Place Poetry Festival, and has taught at The Keene Institute of Music and Related Arts, and the New Hampshire Institute of Art where she was awarded an honorary B. F. A. For more than 12 years she's taught privately, and in the Lifelong Learning Program of Keene State College.

She's been the recipient of numerous poetry awards, including a nomination for the Pushcart Awards, The Connecticut Phoenix Emerging Poet Competition, and The Robert Frost Literary Award from The Robert Frost Foundation in Lawrence , MA .

A member of The New Hampshire Arts Council Touring Roster, she's read her work widely across the New England States and has published over 200 poems in such literary journals as Poetry, Ploughshares, and The Mid-American Review. Her poems have been published internationally in Turkey , China and Canada .

Currently residing in Walpole , NH , she holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Trinity College in Hartford , and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Connecticut . In addition to her career as a poet, she is a retired social worker/psychotherapist and a past member of the National Association of Poetry Therapists.

The position of New Hampshire Poet Laureate was created in 1967. Past Poets Laureate have included Paul Scott Mowrer, Eleanor Vinton, Richard Eberhart, Donald Hall, Maxine Kumin, Jane Kenyon, and Marie Harris. The first laureate, appointed 1968, was Paul Scott Mowrer. The poet is appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, from a list submitted by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire. Fargnoli's appointment extends to March 2009.

Photo by: John Hession

Click here for a listing of previous New Hampshire Poets Laureate