Poet Laureate

In 2014, Prince William County became the first and only county in Virginia to have a Poet Laureate. The poet laureate program was initiated by June Forte. “The purpose of this program is not to put the poet up on a pedestal, but to get poetry out into the community and have it valued and accessible across the economic and education population diversities,” says Forte who at that time was the chair of the Poet Laureate steering committee, member of Write by the Rails, the Prince William Chapter of the Virginia Writers Club and a communications teacher at Northern Virginia Community College.

Responsibilities of a Poet Laureate
The Prince William County Poet Laureate serves to promote an awareness of poetry and to heighten appreciation of the art form and will forge a meaningful connection between poetry and the community by participating in public gatherings, initiating engaging dialogue with residents, and by undertaking a project which makes poetry more available and accessible to people in their everyday lives.

Candidates must be eighteen years of age or older, must have lived in the area for at least two previous years and must maintain residence in the Prince William County area during the full two-year term, and present a detailed account of dedicated arts community service to receive an honorarium of $500 per year.

Poet Laureate Day
Poet Laureate Day as proclaimed by the PWC Board of Supervisors serves to recognize poetry as an art form, to embody the heart and soul of our community, and to officially herald all nominees as “chosen and tasked to promote poetry, heighten local appreciation of the art form, and to undertake an individual project designed to make poetry more available and accessible to Prince William County citizens in their everyday lives.” It is recognized every two years on the Saturday prior to Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s Day, and coincides with the crowning of the new Poet Laureate.

Kim was crowned Prince William County Poet Laureate on Oct. 24, 2020 by the Prince William County Arts Council. Kim is the First African American Prince William County Poet Laureate.

Kim is an award winning spoken word poet. Her pen embodies bold truth.

Find out more about Kim at www.kimbmiller.com or follow her on social media @pwcpoetlaureate2020.

“Writing has been in my blood since I was a child,” Potell wrote. “Words, phrases, sentences just burst into my head like rain water through an open window, and I have to jot them down.  It is how I capture and understand the beauty and the tragedies of life.

Kathy’s work has been published in Kalliope, The Northern Virginia Review, The Piedmont Journal, and The Fredericksburg Literary and Arts Review. She is a creative fellow with the VCCA and has been in residence in both Amherst as well as Auvillar, France. She is the recipient of a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation fellowship, the Elizabeth Ireland Graves Scholarship, and a Virginia Press Association award.

“Poetry is exciting today- not what you think.  It’s about telling the truth and not having education overwhelm your voice.  It’s about who sounds the best like themselves.” Dr. Robert Scott, 2014 PWC Poet Laureate.

“Poets may not necessarily write about their truth, but rather the way they see someone else’s truth.” Zan Hailey, 2014 PWC Poet Laureate.

Alexandra “Zan” Delaine Hailey, passed away in 2018. Her pen has not been silenced. Her poems can be still be read and loved.