Oregon's Poet Laureate from the High Desert

A Central Oregon resident is Oregon's 11th Poet Laureate.

Governor Tina Kotek made the final decision after a 20-person committee narrowed the field to three finalists. When previous Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani's term ended last May, hopeful poets waited for several months, and wondered who would be next. Ellen Waterston was one of them.

When Kotek made the announcement in August, Waterston was her choice. She's the second poet from Central Oregon to receive the two-year honor. (Elizabeth Woody of Warm Springs was the eighth Oregon Poet Laureate.) When the long-time high desert writer heard the...