Colorado Poet Laureate
Program Summary
Colorado’s Poet Laureate advocates for poetry, literacy, and literature by participating in readings and other events at the state capitol, schools, libraries, and literary festivals. The Governor chooses the Poet Laureate. Selection criteria are artistic excellence and a history of community service that elevates poetry.
The Poet Laureate position was created to promote an appreciation of poetry in Colorado and to honor outstanding Colorado poets. Colorado Humanities, Center for the Book, and Colorado Creative Industries jointly support the honorary position, providing $10,000 annually to cover honoraria and travel expenses related to public presentations for each term. This year, an additional $5,000 will be available as part of the 250/150 Commemoration work. The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary, administered the application and selection process.
Colorado Welcomes 11th Poet Laureate Crisosto Apache
On January 28, 2026, Governor Polis announced that Crisosto Apache has been selected as the new Colorado Poet Laureate, succeeding the late Andrea Gibson. Apache, an indigenous poet and Associate Professor at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, will serve in the role for two years with a special emphasis on honoring America 250 - Colorado 150 in 2026, a year-long commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary and Colorado’s 150th anniversary of statehood. The Poet Laureate is a celebrated position that serves as an ambassador for poetry, engaging with communities across the state, conducting readings and workshops, and inspiring a love for the art form. As the new Colorado Poet Laureate, Apache plans to help a diversity of youth discover poetry and collaboratively work with county Poets Laureate across the state.
Apache is Mescalero Apache, Chiricahua Apache and Diné (Navajo). Apache is the author of the poetry collections “GENESIS,” “Ghostword,” winner of the Betty Berzon Emerging Writers Award and finalist for the Colorado Authors League in Poetry, and “is(ness).” Apache is also an Editor-at-large for Offing Magazine.
To invite Crisosto Apache to your community, email poetlaureate@coloradohumanities.org.
This program is a partnership between the Colorado Creative Industries, Colorado Humanities, and The Word, A Storytelling Sanctuary.
Apache's Published Poems
Overview
Type: Award
For: Creatives and artists
Lifecycle: Two years
OEDIT division: Colorado Creative Industries
Andrea Gibson (2023-2025)
Andrea Gibson was introduced by Governor Jared Polis as Colorado’s 10th Poet Laureate on September 6, 2023. Gibson was the author of six full-length collections of poetry. They were a two-time winner of the Independent Publishers Award, a three-time Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist, and the winner of the first Women's World Poetry Slam. In 2017, Penguin Books published Take Me With You, an illustrated collection of Gibson's most beloved quotes, and in 2019, Chronicle Books published their first nonfiction endeavor, How Poetry Can Change Your Heart. Their work used poetry as a vehicle for advocacy and centered the struggles and triumphs of a wide range of Coloradans, with themes ranging from gender identity and queer rights to truths and needs in health care—issues that resonate deeply within our state and around the world. As the Colorado Poet Laureate, Gibson planned to continue a long history of advocacy in collaboration with community groups and holding public space with vulnerability and earnestness, and to help other people fall in love with poetry.
We are deeply saddened by the recent passing of Andrea Gibson, whose powerful voice and presence leaves a lasting impact through their work as Poet Laureate, author, health care advocate with Power to the Patients, subject of the award-winning documentary Come See Me in the Good Light, and much more. Their work gave voice to the struggles and triumphs of so many, centering themes like queer rights, political division, environmental justice, gun reform, and health care—issues that resonate deeply with Coloradans and communities around the world. Gibson's words challenged our perspectives and will continue to inspire for generations to come.
Their appointment continues a legacy of Colorado Poets Laureate who have used poetry to reflect and connect the state's literary and cultural voice.
- Bobby LeFebre (2019-2023)
- Joseph Hutchison (2014-2018)
- David Mason (2010-2014)
- Mary Crow (1996-2010)
- Thomas Hornsby Ferril (1979-1988)
- Milford E. Shields (1954-1975)
- Margaret Clyde Robertson (1952-1954)
- Nellie Burget Miller (1923-1952)
- Alice Polk Hill in (1919-1921)
Begin Where You Are: The Colorado Poets Laureate Anthology, features works by ten of Colorado Poets Laureate, including some new poems from the late Andrea Gibson. Spearheaded by award-winning social entrepreneur Turner Wyatt, this book is a movement with a mission: A portion of the proceeds will fund poetry programming in underserved Colorado schools, libraries, and rural areas, making each purchase an investment in expanding access to this essential art form.
“The arts tell the story of who we are, a narrative that is essential to the Colorado spirit. We are thrilled to celebrate this important collection of work, which commemorates the profound contributions of our Poets Laureate to our vibrant culture and way of life,” said Gov. Jared Polis.
Program Manager