Danielle Legros Georges Named Boston’s New Poet Laureate

Danielle Legros Georges reads at the Mass. Poetry Festival in 2011.

Finally, the search is over. Since the search announcement in April and a deadline extension in July, the city has finally selected a new Poet Laureate to succeed Sam Cornish, who has held the title since 2008.

Danielle Legros Georges, a writer and professor at Lesley University, was chosen by a search committee to “[raise] the status of poetry in the everyday consciousness of Bostonians, acting as an advocate for poetry, language and the arts, and creating a unique artistic legacy through public readings and civic events.”

Legros Georges was born in Haiti and grew up in Mattapan. She earned a B.S. in Communication Studies from Emerson and an M.F.A. in English and Creative Writing from NYU. At Lesley, she teaches in the Creative Arts and Learning Division, focusing on arts and education, contemporary American poetry, African-American poetry, Caribbean literature and studies, and literary translation. Legros Georges’ work has appeared in a number of publications, including the American Poetry Review. She published a collection of poems, Maroon, in 2001.

“Boston’s Poet Laureate position is a great statement by the city,” Legros Georges said in a press release. “This is a wonderful opportunity to bring poetry to Boston neighborhoods, schools and other settings—and to all Bostonians, from our young people in Boston Public Schools to our eldest residents in the senior community.”