GOVERNOR JIM PILLEN HAS NAMED JEWEL RODGERS OF OMAHA AS NEBRASKA’S NEW STATE POET.
HER WORK, ALONG WITH THAT FROM THREE OTHER FINALISTS, WAS ADVANCED TO THE GOVERNOR FOR HIS REVIEW AND SELECTION.
IN HER LETTER OF CONSIDERATION, RODGERS SAID SHE HOPED TO USE HER ROLE AS STATE POET TO EXPAND ON HER EXPERIENCES USING THE SPOKEN WORD TO MAKE POETRY ACCESSIBLE AND RELEVANT TO ALL NEBRASKANS.
SHE SHARED A POEM ABOUT BEING HUMBLE AT A MONDAY NEWS CONFERENCE:
https://kscj.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/RODGERS1.mp3
RODGERS1 OC……..HEAD HELD HIGH. :30
RODGERS HAS BEEN A SPOKEN WORD POET FOR MORE THAN A DECADE AND HAS PERFORMED IN SCHOOLS, FESTIVALS, COMMUNITY SETTINGS, CONFERENCES, PUBLIC EVENTS AND OTHER VENUES.
SHE FOLLOWS A RELATIVELY SHORT LINE OF DESIGNATED STATE POETS, WHICH BEGAN WITH JOHN G. NEIHARDT BECOMING THE NEBRASKA POET LAUREATE IN 1921 THROUGH PASSAGE OF A LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION.
STATE POETS APPOINTED BY GOVERNORS HAVE INCLUDED WILLIAM C. KLOEFKORN IN 1982, TWYLA M. HANSEN IN 2013 AND MATT MASON, WHO WAS NAMED IN 2019.
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