In July 2020, then Virginia Governor Ralph Northam appointed Luisa A. Igloria as the 20th Poet Laureate of Virginia (Emerita), serving a two year term from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022. In April 2021, she was 1 of 23 Poet Laureates nationwide who received a 2021 Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets.
The honorary position of Virginia Poet Laureate was established in 1936; beginning in 1998, the Governor appoints a Poet Laureate from a list of nominees presented by the Poetry Society of Virginia. The Poet Laureate works to “encourage the exchange of arts information and perspectives" and serve as the premiere ambassador of poetry for the state.
