Cathy Smith Bowers, who led the poetry workshop at the Network’s 2009 Squire Summer Writing Residency, is North Carolina’s new Poet Laureate.
Cathy’s appointment was announced today by Governor Beverly Perdue. “Cathy’s powerful poems open new avenues of thought, and are a reflection of the love of words and learning. She believes poetry inspires and instructs North Carolinians of all ages,” Gov. Perdue said.
Cathy teaches in UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program and in the M.F.A. program at Queens University of Charlotte, where she received the 2002 J.B. Fuqua Distinguished Educator Award. She also received the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Award given by the North Carolina Poetry Society in 2006 and 2007.
Cathy will be installed at a ceremony at 4:30 pm, Wednesday, February 10, at the State Capitol.
The Charlotte Observer has a nice article about Cathy and her appointment. Congratulations, Cathy, from all your friends in the Network.