State’s First Native Poet Laureate Named

(St. John, ND) — The State of North Dakota has its first Native American poet laureate. Seventy-one-year-old Denise Lajimodiere really started taking writing seriously in the 1960s growing up on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. She says finding Native writers that looked like her was an inspiration and helped her find her voice. Only a handful of poets have served as poet laureate in the state since 1957, including Larry Woiwode who held the title for much of the past 30 years before he passed last year.