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Use the "Play/Pause" button below to hear Mr. Chappell talking about what it means to be Poet Laureate. Then choose from the menu below to view and hear video clips of Mr. Chappell reading selected poems at a NCSU Friends of the Library event in February, 1999. His commentary on The state of poetry was originally published in the Raleigh News & Observer.
How the appointment was made
Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. asked the North Carolina Arts Council to convene a committee in 1996 to offer nominations for the poet laureate to replace Sam Ragan who had died the year before. The committee met in January, 1996 and Fred Chappell of Greensboro was their unanimous choice. Governor Hunt named him Poet Laureate on December 10, 1997 to serve a five-year term. Link here to biographical information.
Committee members were:
Edwin Wilson, Chair
Richard Chess
Jaki Shelton Green
Michael McFee
Marsha Warren
All poems and essays linked here are copyright © by Fred Chappell and are not available for distribution other than on this Web site without the express permission of Fred Chappell.
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