Home Gov. Youngkin names VMI instructor as new Virginia Poet Laureate
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Gov. Youngkin names VMI instructor as new Virginia Poet Laureate

Rebecca Barnabi
virginia poet laureate
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced last week that Mattie Quesenberry Smith is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s new Poet Laureate.

Smith has served as a First Year Writing and Rhetoric Instructor at the Virginia Military Institute since 2013, and teaches courses in rhetoric and writing. She is a published poet and has received numerous awards for her work. She recently earned her PhD from Virginia Polytechnic University and State Institution and will graduate in December.

Since 1988, the Governor has appointed the honorary position of Poet Laureate of Virginia to serve a term of two years.

“For thousands of years, poets have taken the everyday joys and lamentations that humans experience and expressed them through verse and prose. Poetry is an important art form worldwide, and I have no doubt that Ms. Smith will be an excellent ambassador of its virtues. On behalf of the Commonwealth, Suzanne and I extend our sincere congratulations to Ms. Smith and her family,” Youngkin said.

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.