Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida

Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida is an honorary title awarded by Emerald Coast Writers formerly West Florida Literary Federation, Inc. of Pensacola, Florida, dating back to 1986. The honor, originally named Poet Laureate of the West Florida Panhandle, was first held by Adelia Rosasco-Soule. She was named by twelve community groups in the process of forming a coalition dedicated to area writers, literary arts, and the preservation of the Panhandle’s literary heritage. Her appointment was heralded with a resolution proclaimed by the Mayors of Pensacola and Milton, and the Chairmen of the County Commissions of Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. Rosasco-Soule, an 85-year-old writer, world traveler and native of Italy, was working on her fourth book at the time.

Three years later on September 20, 1989, the coalition which became West Florida Literary Federation, Inc, named the second honoree Leonard A. Temme, PhD, a research physiologist with Naval Aerospace Medical Research Lab. He was named with the revised title Poet Laureate of West Florida. At the ceremony, the symbol of the office of poet laureate, a silver and beribboned medallion, was unveiled for the first time. Pensacola jeweler Rock Hard, also a poet, designed and created the medallion which was to be housed in the new Literary Arts Center (now Pensacola Cultural Center) with smaller versions presented to Rosasco-Soule and Temme.

The third poet laureate, Mary Hood, PhD, a professor of microbiology at University of West Florida, was installed in October 1992. Hood also bore the title Poet Laureate of West Florida. The Director of the Creative Writing Program and Associate Professor of English at University of West Florida, Laurie O’Brien, PhD, was named the fourth poet laureate in 1995.

On February 7, 2003 the fifth Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida, Henry Langhorne II, MD, a Pensacola cardiologist, was introduced by WFLF President Margret Hildreth at The Garden Center in Pensacola. The evening’s events included Langhorne reading from his collection Winter Clothes, a book signing and social hour.

Juliet Z. DeMarko, MA, was appointed interim poet laureate in February 2009. On April 12, 2011 “Julie” was named as the sixth official Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida. A former restaurateur, chef and author of two memoir cookbooks , DeMarko’s first book of poetry, Blue Ridge Childhood, appeared in 2011. DeMarko’s term ended in March 2014.

Jamey Jones, MA, a college instructor at Pensacola State College and author of Blue Rain Morning, was inducted as the seventh poet laureate in October 2014, following a selection process that took nearly a year. During his two terms, he brought poets Lewis Warsh, Barbara Henning, Anne Waldman, and Kim Addonizio to participate in Foo Foo Festival or to Pensacola State, where he teaches. He hosted at least two community poetry events at Artel Gallery, including an evening of original readings by area writers, all inspired by Thoreau.

Katherine Nelson-Born, PhD., served as Poet Laureate from 2020-2023 and even during a pandemic energized area poets. She brought divergent voices together with her Poet’s Roundtable, reaching out to various poetry communities in the area. With her HOPE focus of the healing powers of poetry, she coordinated poetry contests, haiku contests and oral haiku competitions. During the pandemic she utilized the internet to build a community of poets who enjoyed Poem-A-Day prompts to encourage daily writing. During her term, two Florida poets were honored with the publication of chapbooks by Emerald Coast Writers. She supervised an intern from the University of West Florida and assisted with student poetry competitions.

Asia Samson, a spoken word performance poet, accepted the role of Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida at his induction at Pensacola Museum of Art on March 22, 2024 with his first official poet laureate performance the following day at Books By the Bay’s inaugural outdoor book festival. Samson lives on Pensacola Beach with his family when not touring and performing at college campuses across the country.

Traditionally, at least one collection of work by the poet laureate is published by West Florida Literary Federation, beginning with Rosasco-Soule’s Panhandle Memories: A Lived History in 1987. In 1990, the Federation published Songs of Passion: Selected Poems, 1985-1989, the works of Temme. Mary A. Hood’s Opatoula was published by WFLF in July, 1993. In March 1996, the Federation published Our Own Sweet Time by O’Brien. Langhorne’s Tombigbee was published in 1999, followed by Listen to the River in 2001. DeMarko’s Fashioned by Memory published in 2014 by WFLF. Jones’ morning coffee from the other side was published in 2021 and Nelson-Born’s Bone Geometry in 2023.

Sources:

Cannon, Ron. Press release,Sept.20,1989.“Adelia Rosasco-Soule,The First Poet Laureate of the West Florida Panhandle,” reception program, Sept. 20, 1986. Pensacolian. Oct. 5, 1986. Florida Today, 13B, Dec. 31, 1989. Organizational history, West Florida Literary Federation. WFLF Archives. Freckmann, Donna. “Coastal Lights: Guard Your Body, Save Your Soul,” Pensacola Today, Aug./Sept. 1998. Winter Clothes, Henry Langhorne, Program, West Florida Literary Federation, Dockside Publications, Inc., Feb. 7, 2003. McCartan, Sarah. In Weekly, Aug. 7, 2013. “From the President,” The Legend, WFLF newsletter, Feb. 2011. Hood, Mary A., Pepper. Ellen G., ed. Opatoula, West Florida Literary Federation, 1993. 3/0/01. Walker, Andrea. “Viewpoint: Meet Pensacola’s Own Poet Laureate, ”Pensacola News Journal, Sept. 21, 2014.