It's kind of amazing that almost every state in the U.S. has a poet laureate or a similar position. At a time when America feels so divided, what would it mean to see the country through their eyes? That’s what I’m going to try and do with this series of audio collages.

I don’t know how long it will take or how often I’ll be able to put them out. But I’m going to try to speak with as many of these laureates as possible and turn those conversations into brief bits of sound and song.

To stay up to date on The Laureate Project, subscribe to this podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Soundcloud, and follow me, Matt Hoisch, on Substack at @hoischy.

Featured music:
"Sweet Nina" | Leimoti | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com/

Introducing: The Laureate Project

Ashley M. Jones is the poet laureate of Alabama, serving from 2022-26.

Featured music:
"Suna" | Sugoi | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com/
"Insular" | Nylonia | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com/
"Bellerina" | South Pause | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com/

“Portrait of Harriet” | Ashley M. Jones, Rebekah Griffin Greene, conductor Alexander Fokkens, and the Alabama School of Fine Arts music department | Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaZKcz9h9_Q&t=3056s

Alabama: Ashley M. Jones

Arkansas: Suzanne Underwood Rhodes

Lee Herrick is the poet laureate of California, serving since 2022.

Featured music and sound:
"Just a Thought" | Indigo Days | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com/
"Swiss Cheese" | Sugoi | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com/
"Duster Buster Blues" | Martin Klem| Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com/
Fresno: A City Reborn | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdTS_LLJvcw
Life in the Central Valley of California | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NIHSKkya28
21st Poet Laureate Inaugural Reading: Juan Felipe Herrera | Library of Congress | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwzgVyqYrVU&t=1348s
Philip Levine Gives Inaugural Reading as U.S. Poet Laureate | Library of Congress | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku-1okyplds&t=2539s

California: Lee Herrick

Alison Pelegrin is the poet laureate of Louisiana, serving from 2023-25.

Featured Music:
“Homegrown Cobblestone” | Medité | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

“Sur le Sable” | Trevor Kowalski | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Louisiana Alison Pelegrin

Missouri: David L. Harrison

Traci Brimhall is the poet laureate of Kansas, serving from 2023-2026.

Featured Music:
“Like Me” | Real Heroes | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
“Mountains (Instrumental)” | The Eastern Plain | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
“The Way You Smiled Back” | Christian Andersen | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Kansas: Traci Brimhall

It's kind of amazing that almost every state in the U.S. has a poet laureate. At a time when America feels so divided, what it would mean to see the country through their eyes? That’s what I’m going to try and do with this series of audio collages.

I don’t know how long it will take or how often I’ll be able to put them out. But I’m going to try to speak with as many of these poet laureates as possible and turn those conversations into brief bits of sound and song.

To stay up to date on The Laureate Project, subscribe to this podcast and follow me, Matt Hoisch, on Substack at @hoischy.

Louisiana Alison Pelegrin

Matt Hoisch

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