Submissions being accepted for state poetry anthology

The New Mexico Poet Laureate Program is currently accepting submissions for consideration for publication in the New Mexico Poetry Anthology: Vol. 1. The deadline to send in materials is Thursday, July 1.

The Poet Laureate Program is a collaboration between the New Mexico State Library and New Mexico Arts, both of which are divisions of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. 

State residents who have lived in New Mexico for at least three consecutive years are invited to submit original and unpublished poems. Each applicant is allowed to submit up to three poems, and there is no word limit per individual work. Poems can interpret themes such as family history, language, nature, water and spirituality. Submissions will be reviewed by the editors anonymously.

Co-edited by New Mexico Poet Laureate Levi Romero and Albuquerque Poet Laureate Emerita Michelle Otero, the New Mexico Poetry Anthology will be published by the Museum of New Mexico Press in 2022. The anthology will celebrate the state’s people, cultures, languages, traditions and querencia that express the uniqueness, complexity and wonders of New Mexico. 

“We celebrate poets, authors and the written word, all of which enrich our lives and make our state a wonderful place to live,” said State Librarian Eli Guinnee. “We are thrilled to open up this new anthology to all New Mexicans and I hope we will see several unpublished poets included.”

Visit https://poetry.nmculture.org/.

New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, is the state arts agency. New Mexico Arts administers the state’s One Percent for Public Art program, awards grants to nonprofit organizations for arts and cultural programs in their communities across the state, and provides technical assistance and educational opportunities for organizations artists, and arts educators throughout New Mexico.

New Mexico poet laureate

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed New Mexico Senate Bill 536 April 5, 2019, allocating $107,000 to the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs for the creation of a state poet laureate program. Albuquerque poet Levi Romero (a native of Dixon, New Mexico, in Rio Arriba County) was appointed New Mexico's first poet laureate Jan. 30, 2020. New Mexico became the 46th state to offer an official state poet or state writer position.

The three-year position of poet laureate includes an annual stipend of $25,000, travel and printing expenses and part-time staff support.