Past Poet Laureates

Franny Choi

Poet Laureate of Northampton 2024-2026

The Northampton Arts Council announced the appointment of Franny Choi as Northampton’s poet laureate for the 2024–2026 term. As Northampton’s 10th laureate, Choi joined the illustrious ranks of poets Karen Skolfield, Martin Espada, Janet Aalfs, Jack Gilbert, Lesléa Newman, Lenelle Moïse, Richard Michelson, Patrick Donnelly, and Amy Dryansky.

The Northampton Poet Laureate position was a two-year term that celebrated Northampton’s vibrant and diverse poetry community through activities of interest to the chosen poet and educated the public about the importance of poets and poetry to Northampton’s civic and artistic life. The selection committee read poetry by various nominees, discussed a wide range of quality in their work, and considered their success in the larger poetry world.

Franny Choi is the author of three poetry collections: The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On (Ecco, 2022), Soft Science (Alice James Books, 2019), and Floating, Brilliant, Gone (Write Bloody Publishing, 2014). Their writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Paris Review, and elsewhere. A recipient of the Lily/Rosenberg Fellowship, Princeton’s Holmes National Poetry Prize, and the Elgin Award, Franny served as Faculty in Literature at Bennington College and founded Brew & Forge, an organization with a mission to build connections between writers, organizers, and movement workers.

Franny Choi and Brew & Forge hosted an event on Friday, March 1, 2024, in the Flex Space at 33 Hawley Street. Along with a reading by Franny, the event showcased poets of color from across the Pioneer Valley and introduced attendees to grassroots organizing happening locally. The evening celebrated the richness of BIPOC poetry in the region, highlighted local initiatives, and supported writers and activists working for racial justice. Admission was free, with donations collected to benefit Brew & Forge’s work supporting poets and community organizers of color in Western Mass and across the Northeast.

More about this appointment can be found in this article by Steve Pfarrer in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

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