Jennifer Militello Named New Hampshire’s Next Poet Laureate

Program Director of New England College’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing will serve five-year term beginning in April 2024.

New England College proudly announces that Jennifer Militello, accomplished poet and director of the College’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, has been named as New Hampshire’s next Poet Laureate after the State’s Executive Council confirmed Gov. Chris Sununu’s nomination of Militello.

Militello’s five-year term as Poet Laureate begins in April 2024. She will serve as an ambassador for poets in the Granite State and elevate the visibility and value of poetry in New Hampshire.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to serve poetry and poets here in New Hampshire,” stated Militello. “I can’t wait to connect with writers and readers, students and teachers, as I move into this incredible role. And I feel fortunate to have the continued support of New England College as an institution that values the creative arts.”

Militello has authored five poetry collections, including The Pact (Tupelo Press/Shearsman Books, 2021), A Camouflage of Specimens and Garments (Tupelo Press, 2016), and Body Thesaurus (Tupelo Press, 2013), which was named a 2013 top book by Best American Poetry and was the runner-up for the Poetry Society of America’s Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award. Her memoir, Knock Wood (Dzanc Books, 2019), won the Dzanc Nonfiction Prize. Her work has been included in a variety of respected poetry publications: American Poetry Review, The New Republic, The Nation, POETRY, Best American Poetry and Best New Poets. Her poetry has also won the Barbara Bradley Award and the Yeats Poetry Prize.

Additionally, Militello has received grants and fellowships from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, Writers at Work, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. She is a founding director of the New Hampshire Poetry Festival.

“Jennifer’s commitment to her craft represents the excellence we encourage and support in our community at NEC,” states Dr. Wayne F. Lesperance, President of New England College. “We could not be prouder to call her a colleague or happier to celebrate her appointment as New Hampshire’s next Poet Laureate.”

Learn more about Militello and her work at jennifermilitello.com. Learn about poetry in New Hampshire and the State’s distinguished poet laureates at psnh.org, the site of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, a key contributor to the New Hampshire State Poet Laureate program. Learn about the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at New England College at nec.edu/cwmfa.

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