Delgado Professor and Poet Gina Ferrara Named Next Louisiana Poet Laureate

NEW ORLEANS (press release) – The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, along with Gov. Jeff Landry, announced Louisiana’s newest Poet Laureate, Gina Ferrara. Following Alison Pelegrin’s successful tenure as Poet Laureate from 2023 through August 13 of this year, Ferrara assumed the post on Aug. 14 and will serve for two years.

“Gina Ferrara’s work captures the heart and soul of Louisiana,” said First Lady Sharon Landry. “Through her poetry, she celebrates our communities, our stories, and our culture in a way that is both heartfelt and profound. I know her tenure as Poet Laureate will inspire countless Louisianans to discover and embrace their own creative voices.”

Ferrara, an associate professor of English at Delgado Community College, lives in New Orleans and has five poetry collections. Her latest, “Amiss,” was published by Dos Madres Press in 2023. Her work has appeared in many journals including Callaloo, The Poetry Ireland Review, Tar River, The Southern Review, and was nominated for a Best of the Net and a Pushcart Award in 2024. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Fine Arts from the University of New Orleans.

“What I appreciate the most about Gina’s poems is that they are concerned with the familiar, in the most simple but steady sense.,” said Mark C. Tullis, in his nomination of Ferrara. “Her poems take the reader back to one’s childhood, one’s neighborhood, one’s family, one’s foods – all the things that make living in Louisiana unique and special. Her poems, with their use of proper names of locales and landmarks, have a sense of place that is approachable for any Louisianian.”

Since 2007, Ferrara has led The Poetry Buffet, a curation of monthly readings in New Orleans featuring poets from across the state. The program’s success leverages Louisiana’s abundance of poets, highlighting and celebrating one another’s work. Ferrara plans to echo this format in her work as Louisiana Poet Laureate, shining a light on her peers throughout her tenure.

“Poetry dwells in all of us, and it’s often a matter of cultivation that leads to fruition.  It is about finding voice. My experience as an educator has made this my mantra and mission, whether it has been leading breast cancer survivors in a workshop or nurturing reluctant middle schoolers to write a poem. A discovered voice is something I am privileged to see,” Ferrara said.

As Louisiana Poet Laureate for the next two years, Ferrara will travel the state encouraging fellow Louisianans to explore and engage with poetry. In addition to Pelegrin, previous recent poets laureate include Mona Lisa Saloy, John Warner Smith, Jack Bedell, Brenda Marie Osbey, Darrell Bourque, Julie Kane, Ava Leavell Haymon and Peter Cooley.

According to selection guidelines, nominees must have published works in books, anthologies, literary journals or magazines. In addition, the selection committee must seek information from the general public and the literary community. The committee must select nominees who reflect the diverse cultures and heritage of Louisiana.

Under state law, the LEH is charged with overseeing the Poet Laureate nomination process. This year’s nomination panel included outgoing Poet Laureate Alison Pelegrin; past poets laureate Bedell, Saloy, and Smith; LSU Press Director and Publisher of the Southern Review Alisa Plant; LEH Executive Director and President Miranda Restovic; and LEH Director of Public Programs Josh-Wade Ferguson.

“Gina Ferrara is a wonderful poet, and with her work in the classroom, on the page, and with The Poetry Buffet she has impacted the New Orleans Literary scene and beyond. It will be so exciting to see what she accomplishes during her tenure as Louisiana Poet Laureate,” says Alison Pelegrin, Louisiana Poet Laureate 2023-25.

The Poet Laureate will be available for public programming, including readings, workshops and lectures, at venues across Louisiana during her tenure. Sites that wish to host the Poet Laureate can visit leh.org/our-work/special-initiatives/louisiana-poet-laureate for details on criteria and the application.

“When I think of Gina Ferrara, I think of a magical person who is equal part poet and educator,” said Miranda Restovic, LEH president and executive director. “She is admired by her students and colleagues alike for her generous spirit and her literary accomplishments. For this reason, I am so excited for Louisianans of all ages and from all parts of our state to get a chance to engage with her as our newest Poet Laureate.”