OUT & ABOUT ON CAPE ANN

Poet Regie Gibson Appointed as Massachusetts’ Inaugural State Laureate

At Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum, the move reflects a new chapter in a state already rich in poetic heritage—from Anne Bradstreet to Robert Lowell.

Mass. Gov. Maura Healey (left) with Massachusetts first ever Poet Laureate, Regie Gibson (center) and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll (right). Executive Director of Mass Poetry Daniel Johnson is in the rear.

Photo: Margot Murphy

2025 announcement of Massachusetts' first ever Poet Laureate, Regie Gibson, at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Photo: Erika Brown

MA Gov. Maura Healey (right) named the state’s first ever poet laureate, Regie Gibson. Diane Kilgore (left) of the Manchester Cultural Council was on-hand for the event, which was hosted by Mass Humanities, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and Mass Poetry.

Photo: Erika Brown

Posted Thursday, June 5, 2025 11:05 am

Diane Kilgore of the Manchester Cultural Council was on-hand for the event, which was hosted by Mass Humanities, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and Mass Poetry.”

By Erika Brown

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll chose Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum to make history when they named Regie Gibson as the inaugural Poet Laureate of Massachusetts on the opening day of the 2025 Massachusetts Poetry Festival.

A Historic First for the Commonwealth

“This selection follows an exhaustive search with over a hundred applications designed to identify a poet who will amplify poetry and creative expression across Massachusetts,” said Healey. “Regie Gibson is a talented poet with a proven commitment to community engagement and a deep appreciation for the history, beauty, and resilience of our state and our people.”

The historic event was facilitated by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Mass Humanities. Manchester’s Diane Kilgore, a member of the Manchester Cultural Council, attended as a representative of the MCC.

Gibson, who lives in Lexington, is an internationally recognized poet and performer. He serves as Co-Artistic Director of Pedagogy at the Arts for Social Change and teaches at both Berklee College of Music in Boston and Clark University in Worcester. His work, often rooted in themes of history, identity and social justice, blends spoken word performance with poetic craft.

A Tattered Dictionary and a Living Legacy

As Gov. Healey swore him in as Massachusetts Poet Laureate, Gibson took his oath of service using a tattered Webster’s dictionary gifted to him as a child by an uncle who couldn’t read. The book, which he held up, framed his emotional remarks about the transformative power of words. Gibson told the crowd he’d read that old dictionary three times from cover to cover, and it made him understand that words aren’t fixed ideas but rather portals to an endless world of stories, expression, and power.

Then, he read an original poem written for the occasion, called Massachusetts: A Song of Itself that wove a theme of song into this state’s story, from thousands of years ago and still unfurling today, evoking themes of unity, nature, beauty, imperfection, and, yes, resilience.

“… We are Massachusetts – sometimes easily singing full-throatedly of liberty and sometimes wheezing it hoarsly as if dying of thirst – sometimes off pitch and sometimes in pitch-perfect voice,” he read to an audience that filled the atrium, transfixed.

An Overdue Nod to Massachusetts’ Long Love Affair with Poetry

Lt. Gov. Driscoll, former mayor of Salem, called on the civic role of poetry and said Friday’s event was, “an exciting step toward promoting creative expression from the Berkshires to the Cape.” Gibson is expected to coordinate public readings, write poems for state occasions, and work with the Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education to expand poetry programs in schools.

In prepared remarks, Gibson said, “At a time when arts funding is being curtailed and so many civic programs are on the chopping block, I am so gratified to be in a state that believes poetry is not only a worthy endeavor—but a civic good.”

The establishment of the post follows an executive order issued by Gov. Healey earlier this year, creating a statewide Poet Laureate Nominating Committee. The appointment is the first in Massachusetts’ long literary history, despite being home to such figures as Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop.

It’s true that Massachusetts is late to the poet laureate game. As of 2025, 46 U.S. states and the District of Columbia had established official poet laureate positions, aiming to promote poetry and the literary arts. This is remarkable. Indeed, Anne Bradstreet, who resided in Ipswich from 1635 to 1644, is often hailed as America's first published poet. Also, Robert Lowell, a prominent 20th-century Massachusetts poet, had enduring ties to Gloucester, where he spent several summers. The coastal landscapes and maritime culture of Cape Ann influenced his poetry, with Gloucester serving as a backdrop in several of his works.

Now felt the right moment for poetry. Michael Bobbitt, Executive Director of the Mass Cultural Council, called the announcement “a triumphant moment for the cultural sector in Massachusetts,” while Mass Humanities Executive Director Brian Boyles praised Gibson’s “craft and care for the poetry community.”

The announcement coincided with the launch of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, a weekend-long celebration drawing more than 150 poets to downtown Salem for readings, workshops, and performances. Festival Director M.P. Carver said the selection of Gibson “reaffirms our state's position as a center of this great art for our nation, now and into the future.”