Gov. Pat McCrory’s surprise pick for the state’s new poet laureate has brought harsh words as a political ploy from North Carolina’s literary community, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.
“A slap in the face” is how former Poet Laureate Kathryn Stripling Byer of Cullowhee characterized the governor’s appointment of a self-published author and a state employee over more established poets.
Many North Carolina writers had not heard of Valerie Macon of Fuquay-Varina until last Friday when she was named as the state’s official bard for the next two years.
Macon paid Old Mountain Press of Sylva to self-publish two collections of her poetry. She has also worked since 1997 with the Department of Health and Human Services.
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