Gov. Youngkin names VMI instructor as new Virginia Poet Laureate

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.