Poets

by Anonymous. ARTHUR TALMAGE ABERNETHY See also: Abernethy, Arthur Talmage 1872 - 1956 Arthur Abernethy was appointed Poet Laureate in November of 1948, just before the end of Governor R. Gregg [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Horton, Emily S. Maya Angelou was best known as a poet and the best-selling author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970). Angelou was also a singer, dancer, Grammy-winning composer, director, and actress. She was [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Cecelski, David S. Born in Stantonsburg, in Wilson County, in 1935, James Applewhite is one of our nation's most acclaimed poets and an English professor at Duke University. At his home by the Eno River, he told me [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Brown, Arika. Barnwell, Lila Ripley By Arika Brown, North Carolina State University, 2013; Revised by SLNC Government and Heritage Library, June 2023 18 Apr. 1863–6 Mar. [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Childs, T. Mike. Joseph Bathanti is an award-winning poet, author, and college professor. He has published four books of poetry, two novels, a book of short stories, and a nonfiction work on North Carolina's Visiting [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Parramore, Thomas C. William Hill Brown, novelist and poet, was born in Boston, Mass., the son of Gawen Brown, a noted clockmaker, and Elizabeth Hill Adams Brown. At the age of twenty-three, Brown published a novel [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Watterson, John. Thomas Burke, governor and poet, was born in Ireland and grew up in Dublin, probably in a Protestant household. He migrated to the colonies following family quarrels in 1759 or 1760 and settled in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Alley, Sierra. Kathryn Stripling Byer, an American poet, teacher and essayist, was born in Camilla, Georgia. Her father, C.M. Stripling, was a farmer and her mother, Bernice Campbell Stripling, was a [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Chestnut, Paul I. John Armstrong Chaloner, author, industrialist, and philanthropist, was born in New York City in the home of his maternal ancestors, the prominent Astor family. The family name, originally spelled [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Anonymous. In December 1997, Governor Jim Hunt appointed Fred Chappell North Carolina's fourth Poet Laureate. This is only the latest achievement for Mr. Chappell, who began teaching in the Department of [...] (from North Carolina Arts Council.)

by Powell, William S. William John Clarke, soldier, state official, and poet, was born in Raleigh, the only child of Ann Maria Robadeau and William F. Clarke. After his wife's death in 1822 the elder Clarke married [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Lucy Cherry Crisp , museum administrator and poet, was born in Crisp, Edgecombe County, the daughter of Sellers M. and Annie Gorham Crisp. She was graduated from the North Carolina College for Women [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnson, Elmer D. Olive Tilford Dargan, writer, was born at Tilford Springs in Grayson County, Ky., the daughter of Elisha Francis and Rebecca Day Tilford. About 1879 her schoolteacher father moved the family to [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Armistead, Terrell L. Devereux, John, Jr. by Terrell L. Armistead, 1986; Revised October 2022 17 Dec. 1820–10 Apr. [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. John Jordan Douglass, clergyman and poet, was born in Cumnock, Lee County, the oldest of nine children of William Campbell and Josephine Tysor Douglass. His father was a successful attorney and his [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Perry, Percival. Henry Small Ellenwood, teacher, author, poet, and newspaper editor, was born in Newburyport, Mass., the eldest son of Elisha Small, a mariner who died in the West Indies in 1806, leaving a widow and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Deveneaux, Gustav H. K. Faduma, Orishatukeh by Gustav H. K. Deveneaux (1855–25 Jan. 1946) Orishatukeh Faduma, teacher and minister, was born in Guyana, South America (formerly British Guiana), to John and Omolofi [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Malone, E. T., Jr. Edwin Wiley Fuller, poet and novelist, was born in Louisburg, Franklin County, the son of Jones Fuller, a cotton broker and merchant, and of Anna Long Thomas, a lady of culture, religion, and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Andrews, William L. David Bryant Fulton, Black polemicist and author, was born in Fayetteville to Benjamin and Lavinia Robinson Fulton. His early childhood was spent in the Fayetteville area, but he grew up in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. James Gay, farmer, soldier, and poet, was born in Ulster, Ireland, of Devon forebears. In lieu of a formal education, he avidly read history and the Scottish poems of Allan Ramsay. At age sixteen he [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Thomas Godfrey, Jr., mercantile agent, poet, and dramatist, was born in Philadelphia. His father was the inventor of the quadrant and one of the original members of the American Philosophical Society [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Hargrave, Richard by William S. Powell, 1988 5 Dec. 1803–23 June 1879 Richard Hargrave, clergyman and author, was born in Caswell County, the son of William and Sallie Ellis Hargrave. His [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Hunter Lee Harris, geologist and poet, was born at Sassafras Fork (Stem) in Granville County, son of Adam Clarke and Martha Hunter Harris and the youngest of six. He had two sisters and three [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Happer, Carolyn Murray. Barbara Bynum Henderson, poet, translator, and pioneer leader in the North Carolina woman suffrage movement, was born into a family closely connected with the Episcopal church. Her father, William [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Henderson, Philo P. by Richard Walser, 1988; Revised by SLNC Government & Heritage Library, June 2023 February 1823–21 July 1852 Philo P. Henderson, poet, was born in Central Mecklenburg [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Norris, Elizabeth E. Theophilus Hunter Hill, poet and librarian, was born near Raleigh at Spring Hill plantation in the home of his maternal grandfather, Theophilus Hunter, Jr. His great-grandfather was the Reverend [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Raper, Horace W. Joseph William Holden, poet, newspaperman, and state political leader, was born in Raleigh, the son of William Woods and Ann Augusta Young Holden. He attended the Lovejoy School in Raleigh and later [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. George Moses Horton, poet, was born enslaved by William Horton in Northampton County. George Moses Horton's mother, his five older half sisters, his younger brother and three sisters were also [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Johnson, Elmer D. Rednap Howell, "poet of the Regulators," moved to North Carolina from New Jersey, probably in the early 1760s. He settled first in present Chatham County, then moved about 1768 to what is now [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Farnham, Mary. Randall Jarrell, poet, critic, and teacher, was born in Nashville, Tenn., the son of Owen and Anna Campbell Jarrell. Owing to his parents' divorce, much of his childhood through 1927 was spent in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Malone, E. T., Jr. Edmund Noah Joyner, Episcopal priest, missionary, soldier, poet, and newspaper editor, was born in the Marlboro community near Farmville in Pitt County, the son of Dr. Noah and Emily Adelaide [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. Kingsberry-Burt is a survivor of poverty, child abuse and teen pregnancy. She is a community activist, a minister, a poet, and she fixed me the best fried chicken I've ever eaten. She is also a [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Powell, William S. Lanier, Sidney Clopton by William S. Powell, 1991 3 Feb. 1842–7 Sept. 1881 Sidney Clopton Lanier, poet, musician, novelist, and author of books for boys, was born in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Emma Augusta Lehman, teacher and poet, was born at Bethania, the daughter of Eugene Christian and Amanda Sophia Butler Lehman. Her father was director of the village orchestra. She had two brothers, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Lovejoy, Jefferson Marshall [Madison?] by Richard Walser, 1991 5 June 1814–26 June [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. John MacRae, Loyalist poet and song-writer, born in Kintain, Scotland, was a recognized Gaelic poet and singer before sailing for North Carolina in 1774 and settling on McLendons Creek (now in Moore [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Andrews, William L. James Ephraim McGirt, Black poet, editor, and publisher, was born in Robeson County near the town of Lumberton. The son of Madison and Ellen Townsend McGirt, he grew up on the family farm and was [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. John Charles McNeill, poet, journalist, and lawyer, was born at Ellerslie, his father's farm near Wagram in Richmond (later Scotland) County. His two grandfathers had emigrated from Argyllshire, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Means, Alexander by William S. Powell, 1991 6 Feb. 1801–5 June [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. John Albert Murphy, clergyman and poet, the son of John and Mary ("Molly") Livengood Murphy, was born in Davidson County on his father's farm between Abbott's Creek and Rich Fork. The 1850 census [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Green, C. Sylvester. Dallas Walton Newsom, educational administrator, county manager, scholar, and poet, was born in Littleton, Warren County, the son of Marion Eaton and Annie Soule Heptinstall Newsom. His grandparents, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Case, Steven. North Carolina Poets Laureate by Steven Case, 2009. Updated 2014. NC Government & Heritage Library. A JOINT RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE AND EMPOWER THE GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA TO NAME AND [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Walser, Richard. Guy Owen, teacher and writer, was born of Welsh and English ancestry in the Elkton community near Clarkton (called "Clayton" in his fiction) in Bladen County ("Cape Fear County"), the oldest of four [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Malone, E. T., Jr. Hubbard Fulton Page, folk poet, teacher, and composer, was born in northern Sampson County near the old Harnett County community of Averasboro. He was the son of Sion Cephas, a circuit-riding Baptist [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Donald Parson, poet, author, and authority on the game of bridge, was born in Washington, D.C., the son of William Edwin and Anna Rebecca Naille Parson. He was graduated cum laude from Harvard [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Miller, Patricia J. Hiram Voss Paul, poet, author, editor, and journalist, was born in New Bern of Scot-Irish ancestry. His forefathers, the McCotters and the Pauls, were among the first settlers of Albemarle County in [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Worthy, Pauline. Anne Blackwell Payne, poet, was the daughter of Charles M. and Margaret Justice Sparrow Payne. Anne, called "Annie" until she grew up, was born in Concord, where her father was a Presbyterian [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. James Larkin Pearson, poet and printer, was born of English and Scot-Irish ancestry in a log cabin on Berry's Mountain three miles from Boomer in Wilkes County, the oldest of two sons of William [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Anonymous. The second Poet Laureate of North Carolina was born in Wilkes County, September 13, 1879. His name was James Larkin Pearson, son of William and Louise McNeil Pearson. Born in the Berry's Mountain [...] (from James Larkin Pearson Library, Wilkes Community College.)

by Johnston, Hugh B., Jr. Josiah Solomon Pender, poet, artist, army officer, and Confederate blockade-runner, was the son of Solomon and Mary Batts Pender of the Tarboro area of Edgecombe County, both of whom were descended [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Craton, Lillian E. On 11 May 1935 the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a resolution empowering the governor to appoint a poet laureate for the state. The position remained empty until 1948, when outgoing [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Rhodes, William Henry by William S. Powell, 1994 16 July 1822–14 Apr. 1876 See also:  Rhodes, Elisah Averitt William Henry Rhodes, pioneer writer of science [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Parker, Roy, Jr. The Roanoke-Chowan Group of Writers and Allied Artists began in 1948 as an informal gathering of writers, musicians, painters, and patrons of the arts called together by retired banker Gilbert T. [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Tucker, Glenn. James Chester Rockwell, poet, editor, and minister, whose early death at age twenty-five was believed to have deprived North Carolina of one of its most promising literary figures of the late [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Gohdes, Clarence. Carl August Sandburg, poet, journalist, biographer, and folk song recitalist, was a national celebrity long identified with the Midwest when he moved to North Carolina in 1945 after purchasing the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. James Biddle Shepard, lawyer, legislator, and poet, was born in New Bern, the son of William Biddle and Mary Blount Shepard of Elmwood, Pasquotank County. He was related to the Biddle and Pettigrew [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Lilla (May) Vass Shepherd, poet, was born in Raleigh, the youngest child of Lillias Margaret McDaniel and William Worrell Vass. She had a brother William Worrell, Jr., a sister Eleanor Margaret, and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. James Frederick Simmons, poet, newspaperman, and judge, was born in Halifax, the son of James (1800–1891) and Susan Gary Simmons. His mother died when he was an infant and he was raised by an aunt, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Woodard, John R., Jr. Benjamin Franklin Sledd, educator and poet, was born in Bedford County, Va., the son of William Edgar and Arabella Hobson Sledd. Members of both the Hobson and Sledd families had fought in all the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Killingsworth, M. Jimmie. Michael Smith, preacher and poet, was born in County Meath, Ireland, the son of the Reverend Robert Smith. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he was ordained an Anglican priest by the bishop of [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Glover, Erma Williams. Thaddeus Garland Stem, Jr., poet, essayist, newspaper columnist, and short-story writer, the son of Thaddeus G., attorney at law, and Hallie Mayes Stem, was born in his parents' home at 104 East [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Alexander Stewart, public official and perhaps a poet, was born in Scotland but was clerk of court in Beaufort County, N.C., by 1751. He may have been the Stewart who represented one of the borough [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sherwood, Mary Bates. Henry Jerome Stockard, poet and educator, was born in Chatham County. His ancestors emigrated from Scotland to Pennsylvania and moved to Chatham County between 1750 and 1760. His grandfather, John [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by York, Maury. James Fauntleroy Taylor, state librarian, the son of North Carolina attorney general James Fauntleroy and Eliza Leonora Taylor, was born in Raleigh. He attended The University of North Carolina, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Agan, Kelly. State Toast: The Old North State: A Toast (aka, The Tar Heel Toast) by Kelly Agan, N.C. Government & Heritage Library, 2016 See also: North Carolina State Symbols and Official Adoptions [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Yanchisin, D. A. Leonard Charles Van Noppen, poet, literary expert, and translator, was born at Wemeldinge, Zeeland, Holland. His parents, Cornelius Martin and Johanna Maria Cappon Van Noppen, immigrated to the [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jackson, Blyden. Islay Walden, black poet and Congregational minister, was born in Randolph County, the son of a woman named Ruth who was enslaved by James Gardner and William D. Walden, a free black man. At [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. John Van Alstyne Weaver, writer, was born in Charlotte, the son of Annie Randolph Tate of Charlotte and John Van Alstyne Weaver, Sr., of New York State. Of Scottish, Irish, Huguenot, German, English, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Terrill, Thomas E. Henry White, Jr., Quaker leader, colonial official, and poet, was born in Isle of Wight County, Va. His father, Henry White, Sr., a cooper, married, first, Elener (surname unknown) and, later, [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Anthony, Robert G., Jr. Whiting, Seymour Webster by Robert G. Anthony, Jr., 1996 15 Aug. 1816–2 Jan. 1855 Seymour Webster Whiting, banker, railroad official, and poet, was a native of Stratford, Conn. When about [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Walser, Richard. Whittlesey, Sarah Johnson Cogswell By Richard Walser, 1996 24 Aug. 1824–14 Feb. 1896 Sarah Johnson Cogswell Whittlesey, writer, was born in Williamston, the oldest child of Luman and Elizabeth [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Milton Winslow, Quaker minister and author, was born in Randolph County, the oldest child of Thomas and Anna (Nancy) Nixon Winslow, members of the Back Creek Quaker Monthly Meeting. His mother died [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)