Marie Howe

Marie Howe is an American poet and educator. She has been the Poet Laureate of New York since 2012. Howe was born in Rochester, New York in 1950 and graduated from Sacred Heart Convent School in Rochester. She attended the University of Windsor receiving a B.A. in 1971. Afterward, she studied at Stanford University where she earned her M.A. in English Literature in 1983.

Marie Howe is the author of four books of poetry: "The Good Thief," which was selected by Margaret Atwood as the winner of the 1987 Open Competition of the National Poetry Series; "What the Living Do" (1998), which was praised by The New Yorker as one of the five best poetry collections of the year and was named one of Publishers Weekly's best books of 1998; "The Kingdom of Ordinary Time" (2008), a finalist for the 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Poetry; and "Magdalene" (2017), which was longlisted for the National Book Award for Poetry.

Marie Howe's poetry is known for its intimate and personal exploration of themes such as loss, love, and spirituality. Her poems often blend the ordinary with the mythical, creating a sense of wonder and contemplation. Many of her poems are written in a conversational style, with a focus on the power of language to paint vivid and evocative images. Howe's use of repetition and symbolism adds depth and resonance to her work.

Marie Howe has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry, a Lavan Younger Poets Prize from the Academy of American Poets, and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. In 2015, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was also named the State Poet of New York in 2012, a position she still holds.

As the Poet Laureate of New York, Marie Howe's role is to promote and advocate for poetry and literary arts in the state. She represents the voice of poetry in public events and encourages the appreciation and understanding of poetry among New Yorkers. Howe also works to raise awareness about the power and importance of language and literature in society.