Poet Laureate
Mount Vernon Poet Laureate for 2025- 2027
Published author and Cornell English Professor, Scott Russell Morris, has been awarded the role of Mount Vernon Poet Laureate. Established in 2018, the position is in partnership with the City of Mount Vernon and has become an integral part of the local community arts scene. Previous Poet Laureates Marianne Taylor and Amelia Kibbie have presented original works at the City’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony, hosted Writers’ Nights, held workshops and poetry presentations as well as offered Poems-on-Demand.
“The Poet Laureate position has become a well-established role and I believe it speaks to the sense of importance and respect our small community holds for the arts,” says MVAAC president Dr. Tiffany Carr.
“Scott Russell Morris is a well-traveled writer/essayist and sees his new role of Poet Laureate as an opportunity to ‘raise the esteem of writing in the community and encourage people to explore writing as a creative practice.’ Morris says he is ‘interested in giving back to the community and being a voice for promoting the arts.’
We are thrilled to name Morris as the next Mount Vernon Poet Laureate and can’t wait to experience how he and his work will positively impact our community.”
At the request of MVAAC, the position of Poet Laureate was established by a resolution of the Mount Vernon City Council on May 21, 2018.
The Mount Vernon Poet Laureate serves a two-year term. Responsibilities of the Poet Laureate include:
Creation of an original work presented at Mount Vernon's Memorial Day Event (read past poems here: 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024)
Presentation of at least one public outreach activity that celebrates poetry
Celebration of poetry and the written word in Mount Vernon Area and beyond
The Poet Laureate is appointed to a 2 year term by the board of MVAAC. An annual $500 stipend is provided.
Read the results of the 2019
Favorite Poem Project
Amelia Kibbie
MV Poet Laureate Amelia Kibbie presenting original poem at Memorial Day event 2021
2021-2024 Poet Laureate
Amelia Kibbie is an author, freelance writer, and secondary educator. The daughter of Jan Scharnberg and Joel Carl, she spent her childhood through graduation in Mount Vernon and was in the MVHS class of 2002. She attended the University of Iowa and earned a BA in Secondary English Education with a minor in theatre, then began teaching and worked on her Masters in Teaching and Learning simultaneously for the next several years, earning the degree in 2012. She went directly from student teaching into a position in middle school ELA, and spent time working in the Mid-Prairie, Muscatine, and Alburnett districts before coming to Lisbon, where she has worked for 5 years as a teacher, instructional coach, and interventionist. She also serves as the PBIS internal coach and National Honor Society faculty adviser.
Amelia’s short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including the pro-human sci-fi collection Humans Wanted and My American Nightmare: Women in Horror, Enter the Rebirth, Of Witches, Warriors and Wyverns, and Running Wild Press's Short Story Anthology Volume 2. The literary journals Saw Palm, Quantum Fairy Tales, Wizards in Space, and Intellectual Refuge have featured her work. Rustle, her first (and probably only) volume of poetry is available on lulu.com and amazon.com. She also blogs at akibbie.wordpress.com and her website is hosted at ameliakibbie.com.
Amelia’s novel, Legendary, was published by Running Wild Press in 2019, and is based on her short story, an LGBT historical romance called “Idylls of the King” which appears in their second anthology of short stories. “Idylls of the King” is the story of two boys shipped away from London to avoid the Nazi bombings in WWII as part of a program called Operation Pied Piper. James and Arthur, along with their classmates, move into the manor of the Baroness, Lady Barlow. However, their woes and worries follow them there; James is relentlessly bullied and Arthur does not speak because of his stutter. It’s up to the Baroness and her war-veteran butler, Mr. Marlin, to help the boys realize that they are just as important and legendary as characters from the King Arthur myths. The novel picks up with them ten years later after Mr. Marlin's death as they cross the country trying to solve the mystery of his dying words, the journey pushing the boundaries of their relationship.
Amelia has spent 15 years in public education. Working with students who struggle is her calling. Her next project is to renovate the former Catholic church on Market Street in Lisbon, and convert it into a home. She's doing this with the help of her husband, daughter, four cats and four ducks. Her daughter Alyssa is in kindergarten at Lisbon and sometimes sells her duck eggs at the MV farmer's market.
Memorial Day Poems
Amelia Kibbie has presented an original poem for Mount Vernon’s Memorial Day event during her tenure as Mount Vernon’s Poet Laureate. Her original pieces can be found below.
2021: This is an Elegy
2022: This is an Invocation
2023: This is a Universe
Mount Vernon is the smallest city in America
with a Poet Laureate
Think You Could be A Future Poet Laureate?
Applications are now being accepted for 2024-2025. Please apply online.
Qualifications include demonstrated writing proficiency, a Mount Vernon mailing address and willingness to fulfill the duties.
Candidates must be at least 16 years old and will be considered on the basis of
Dexterity with language
Depth and breadth of work
Content of the completed application