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Office of Gov. Dennis Daugaard
500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre,S.D.57501
(605) 773-3212
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 1, 2015
CONTACT: Tony Venhuizen or Kelsey Pritchard at 605-773-3212
Gov. Daugaard Appoints Roripaugh As Poet Laureate
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard has appointed Lee Ann Roripaugh of Vermillion as South Dakota’s poet laureate.
Roripaugh will succeed poet David Allan Evans, who has served as South Dakota’s poet laureate since 2002. Evans announced his retirement from the post earlier this year.
The South Dakota Arts Council serves South Dakotans and their communities through the arts and works closely with the poet laureate.
“South Dakota has a rich tradition in the arts, and Roripaugh’s work is outstanding,” said Arts Council Director Michael Pangburn. “Roripaugh is committed to serving the poetry community and has the knowledge and expertise to do so. On behalf of the Arts Council, I thank David Allan Evans for his dedicated service with over 12 years of traveling the state and promoting poetry in South Dakota.”
Roripaugh is the author of four volumes of poetry and has received various awards and recognitions. She currently teaches Creative Writing at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and is the editor of the national, quarterly journal South Dakota Review.
Under the terms of Senate Bill 86, which the Legislature passed and the Governor signed this year, Roripaugh will serve a four-year term that ends on July 1, 2019. Future governors will have the opportunity, every four years, to name a new poet laureate to promote poetry and represent South Dakota’s varied literary traditions.
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