The State Library of North Carolina’s Government and Heritage Library will host North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green on April 17 for National Poetry Month.
The event will be held at 2 p.m. in the auditorium of the Archives and History Building, located at 109 E. Jones St. in Raleigh, and will be live streamed on the State Library of North Carolina's YouTube page. Shelton Green will offer a poetry reading and will share her journey to the poet laureateship and her work with youth engagement.
Jaki Shelton Green is the ninth Poet Laureate of North Carolina, first appointed in 2018 and reappointed in 2021 for a second term by Governor Roy Cooper. She is the first African American and third woman to serve as North Carolina Poet Laureate. She was appointed as the first poet in residence of the North Carolina Museum of Art for 2022-2023.
Shelton Green teaches Documentary Poetry at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Her publications include Masks, Dead on Arrival and New Poems, Conjure Blues and many more. On Juneteenth 2020, she released her first LP, poetry album, The River Speaks of Thirst and released a CD, I Want to Undie You in 2021.
To learn more and register for the program, visit https://slnc.info/NPM2023.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the N.C. Zoo, the N.C Symphony, the State Library, the State Archives, N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.ncdcr.gov.