Correction
CORRECTION: this post has been updated with the correct application due date of November 30, 2025. The post previously listed the due date as November 15, 2025.
2026-2029 Hawaiʻi State Poet Laureate
Nomination and applications are now open for the 2026–2029 Hawaiʻi State Poet Laureate and can be found online on our website: sfca.hawaii.gov/programs-for-artists-presenters/hawaii-state-poet-laureate. Nominations may be made by an organization or individual. Self-nominations are allowed.
How to get started
We recommend beginning the process as soon as possible. The first step in making a nomination is to email a completed Poet Laureate Nomination Form to [email protected]. Once the form has been reviewed and approved by SFCA staff, you will receive an email with permission to move on to the next step of the nomination process. If your nominee has already been nominated, you will be asked to submit a letter of support. All materials must be received by November 15, 2025.
Qualifications
Eligible candidates have 10 or more years of experience doing poetry in Hawaiʻi and a track record of community service and education. Candidates will be judged based on artistic excellence, and their deep commitment to Hawaiʻi and our diverse communities. The Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate must be a resident of Hawaiʻi and able to travel statewide for programming during the term. Applicants are asked to share their vision for their three-year term, and describe the community projects they would like to make happen. The selected Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate is awarded an annual grant of $25,000 to support literary programming throughout our islands.
“Serving as Hawai’iʻs poet laureate has been an honor beyond words — to share my own voice, but more importantly, to help others find and share theirs. It’s been a joy to hear and learn from our local people as they create poems that only they could write and tell — poems shaped by their memories, their imaginations, and their aloha for Hawaiʻi. The magic of poetry is how quickly and deeply it can connect us to each other.”, said Dr. Brandy Nālani McDougall, current Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate (2023-25). Dr. McDougall will continue her Poet Laureate programming on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu for the rest of the year.
About the Hawaiʻi State Poet Laureate program
Launched in 2022 as a collaboration of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System, and the Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities, the Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate program promotes and encourages appreciation of poetry and literary life in Hawaiʻi and the poetry community while inspiring new writers from all walks of life.
Help us get the word out
Please help us share the information about this program!
- Flyer: 2026-2029 Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate flyer (PDF)
- Social media graphic: 2026-2029 Hawaiʻi Poet Laureate Instagram portrait
Artwork in graphic
Detail from “The Crater of Maui” oil on canvas painting by Reuben Tam, 1974. Art in Public Places Collection of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.
Edits
Corrected typo in first paragraph from ‘2026-2028’ to ‘2026-2029’.
October 7, 2025: added “help us get the word out” section with social media graphic and printable flyer.
November 3, 2025: updated quote from Dr. McDougall to “Serving as Hawai’iʻs poet laureate has been an honor beyond words — to share my own voice, but more importantly, to help others find and share theirs. It’s been a joy to hear and learn from our local people as they create poems that only they could write and tell — poems shaped by their memories, their imaginations, and their aloha for Hawaiʻi. The magic of poetry is how quickly and deeply it can connect us to each other.” at the request of Hawaiʻi Council for the Humanities.
November 17, 2025: updated application due date to November 30, 2025. Added correction heading and text to top of page. Replaced PDFs with incorrect date with PDFs that have the correct date.