Ashley M. Jones has been named Alabama’s next poet laureate, Poetry magazine said Friday. She will succeed Will Smith, who is retiring after a three-year term.
“Poetry in America is so strong and so vibrant because of the diversity of voices and the commitment to continue the conversation. Poets from Alabama are getting their voices out there, and they’re just as alive, as if not more so, than most Americans,” Jones said in a news release.
“Poetry’s power is in that sense. I think people who do poetry find a community and the key is to be connected to other people who like the same things, who are also coming to the question of a rich and meaningful language,” she added.
Jones, 50, lives in Birmingham with her husband, a physician, and their three sons. She recently released “Destination Alabama: An American Girl With Ruby,” a coffee-table book in which she told the story of growing up with the advice from her mother: “Be patient. Don’t cry in front of anyone unless they need you to.”
Alabama became the nation’s first “home of the poet laureate” in 1990. Previous laureates include Elizabeth Alexander, Shane Davis and Gordy Porter.
In accepting the appointment, Jones will launch the 20th annual Biennial Writer’s Symposium and Alabamiana Book Festival later this year.
