Ohio's New Poet Laureate Is Cleveland Heights Writer

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Dave Lucas is Ohio's new poet laureate, Governor John Kasich announced on Friday. His work has been published in The Bedford Introduction to Literature and Best New Poets 2005, among other publications. His work, Weather, was awarded the 2012 Ohioana Book Award in Poetry.

Lucas says he wants to create a multimedia projects that brings together people from different backgrounds and places to express their opinions through poetry.

“I am grateful, humbled, and eager for the opportunity to serve as the Poet Laureate of the State of Ohio, and to celebrate poetry wherever we may find it — in books, on stage, and on screens; and in the metaphors that help us to understand our world and each other,” said Lucas.

The poet laureate serves a two-year term. Lucas replaces the state's first poet laureate Dr. Amit Majmudar.

“Our state’s poet laureate has an opportunity to engage Ohioans of every age in unique and challenging ways,” said Kasich in a release. “I’m confident Mr. Lucas will fulfill the special calling that comes with this honor, to help us look at our world from a new perspective and I wish him the best in his new role.”

Lucas is a son of Northeast Ohio. He was born in Cleveland and earned his bachelor's degree in English from John Carroll University. He then matriculated out of state, getting his Master of the Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Virginia and his Master's and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.

He has worked as an instructor at Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic Program in Medical Humanities, Lerner College of Medicine; the John Carroll Young Writers Workshop; and Sweet Briar/James Madison University.

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