The Cookeville Arts Council has appointed Tennessee Tech Associate Professor Erin Hoover as the city’s new Poet Laureate.
Hoover said the honor will help in her efforts to foster local arts. She noted that she has worked to establish a poetry reading series and support literary publications since moving to the area five years ago.
“For me, this appointment is really a recognition of the work that I do to promote Cookeville and literature more broadly in our local community,” Hoover said.
Hoover serves as the faculty advisor for the university’s literary journal, which publishes work from across the Upper Cumberland. She said she noticed upon arriving in Cookeville that residents desired more opportunities for creative expression and writing.
“The programs that I’ve helped to start are just an outgrowth of that effort to really connect with our community and help serve that need people have for self-expression,” Hoover said.
While the specific shape of her tenure is still being determined, Hoover said the role typically involves a project to promote poetry. She aims to collaborate with local businesses and nonprofits to create programs.
“I’d like to branch out and do something else, possibly involving young people, possibly involving school-aged young people who want to learn to write poetry or are interested in expressing themselves via creative writing,” Hoover said.
Hoover said she hopes to connect her university work with the community to show that Tennessee Tech has a thriving humanities and creative writing program. She noted that poetry is one of the oldest literary arts and remains a vital way for people to express values and find comfort.
“Thank you so much to the Cookeville Arts Council for being willing to create this position and also recognize the importance of poetry and the arts in our community more broadly,” Hoover said.
Hoover said she looks forward to collaborating with writers to figure out what kind of program to start in service of poetry in Cookeville.