RALEIGH, N.C. -- Gov. Roy Cooper inducted the state's 9th Poet Laureate at the State Capitol Monday.
- Jaki Shelton Green is the first African American and the third woman to serve as the state's ambassador for poetry and spoken word.
- Green is a native of Alamance County, and has been active in North Carolina's literacy and teaching community for more than 40 years.
- She has penned eight books of poetry, co-edited two poetry anthologies and written one play. She is a 2014 North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductee and was the recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2003.
Jaki Shelton Green is the first African American and the third woman to serve as the state's ambassador for poetry and spoken word.
She succeeds Shelby Stephenson, who was named poet laureate February 2, 2015.
Green is a native of Alamance County, and has been active in North Carolina's literacy and teaching community for more than 40 years.
She has penned eight books of poetry, co-edited two poetry anthologies and written one play. She is a 2014 North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame inductee and was the recipient of the North Carolina Award for Literature in 2003.
Green is currently a Documentary Poetry teacher at Duke University Center for Documentary Studies.
Her plan is to focus her efforts on the creation of documentary poetry, helping communities explore the ways they document their unique regional histories and significant historical events.