WATCH: Alabama Poet Laureate Speaks At Stillman Convocation

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Stillman College on Thursday had the distinction of hosting Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley M. Jones as its 2022 spring convocation speaker.

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The first woman and youngest person ever to hold the title in Alabama, the 31-year-old poet has garnered numerous awards, including the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers Award, the Silver Medal in the Independent Publishers Book Awards, the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize for Poetry, a Literature Fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the Lucille Clifton Poetry Prize, and the Lucille Clifton Legacy Award.

Click here to watch Jones speak during the convocation.

Jones also co-directs PEN Birmingham, in addition to serving as founding director of the Magic City Poetry Festival and teaching in the Creative Writing Department of the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

Her term as poet laureate began in 2022 and will last until 2026.

Click here for audio and video of Jones' poetry.

Jones released her latest collection of poetry, "Reparations Now!" last September.

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