New Oregon Poet Laureate is Ellen Waterston of Bend

By Rachael McDonald (KLCC)
Aug. 16, 2024 12:40 a.m.
Ellen Waterston, from Bend, Ore., is named the Oregon Poet Laureate, in this undated supplied photo.

Ellen Waterston, from Bend, Ore., is named the Oregon Poet Laureate, in this undated supplied photo.

Courtesy of Marina Koslow Davis via Oregon Cultural Trust

Gov. Tina Kotek has named Ellen Waterston of Bend as Oregon’s new Poet Laureate.

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Waterston founded the Writing Ranch and the Waterston Desert Writing Prize. She has published four poetry collections and her poems have appeared in journals, anthologies and the Writer’s Almanac.

Waterston will be Oregon’s 11th Poet Laureate and succeeds Anis Mojgani, who has held the post since 2020.

Related: Embracing intimacy and uncertainty: At work with Oregon’s poet laureate

Much of Waterston’s award-winning poetry and prose is inspired by the remote reaches of southeastern Oregon’s Outback.

Waterston assumes the Poet Laureate role immediately. It’s a two-year appointment.

Her poetry awards include the WILLA Literary Award for two of her collections, and the Obsidian Prize for Poetry. Waterston is currently completing a fifth collection featuring a series of commissioned poems celebrating remote locations across the West.


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