Yesterday we heard from MATT HOISCH, creator of The Laureate Project, that the series has been nominated for a NYC Podcast Award for Best Sound Design (via Silver Sound). Competition includes Apple and Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Matt is justifiably proud to make the short list because he is doing this project on his own. He supports his efforts through subscriptions. He’s up to 44 recordings now with a goal of reaching 50, a remarkable achievement. Way to go, Matt! https://www.hoisch.com/the-laureate-project
A perk of being a state poet laureate is that you get to meet some great people who are interested in what you are doing, saying, thinking, and writing. That’s how I met MATT HOISCH, a gifted radio-journalist, among numerous other skills, who had recently set out to interview all the state poets laureate to learn how a national chorus of their voices might sound. He calls this enormous effort The Laureate Project and you can find it at https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-laureate-project/id1741403114
Since our interview, I’ve stayed in touch with Matt and have contacted several of the poets he has now interviewed to invite them to write a column for Poetry from Daily Life. A number of them have or plan to. Thank you again for those contacts, Matt!
I asked Matt to respond to a few questions about his quest and he agreed. Here is the result.
D
Matt, we met when you interviewed me as part of your project to visit with as many as
possible of America’s state poets laureate. Some project! Tell us why you felt up to such
an enormous task. What is your background?
M
You know, it's funny because it is quite an enormous task, but I also think I somewhat intentionally tried to block that thought from my mind in setting out on the project back in January 2024. I really set out on this because the more I thought about how interesting it would be to gather all of these dispersed voices, the more excited I got. My background is in broadcast journalism--I was a radio journalist in Colorado for a while and have also written for PBS--so I'm no stranger to the rhythms of arranging interviews and editing them down.
D
What gave you such an idea? There are forty-three states that have a poet laureate.
What was your hope when you set out on this journey?
M
It's hard to remember an exact moment the idea came. I'd known about state-level poet laureate for a while and in late 2023 when the American cultural fabric felt so divided, (unfortunately that's not changed much since then) speaking with these laureates felt like such a worthwhile thing to do. My time in journalism has given me a bit of a preference for more localized kind of storytelling. There's of course a time and a place for bigger picture conversations with national or international figures, but I typically find that speaking with people closer to more localized, everyday existence makes for more intricate and surprising listening.
D
How many poets laureate have your recorded so far? Has anyone turned down your
offer?
M
So far I've spoken with 23, with more scheduling in the works! No one has flat out turned me down--though I have had some who have said they are interested but need to wait a bit for various reasons. The biggest hurdle, really, has just been that some people haven't responded (if you're a state-level poet laureate reading this and we haven't spoken, please reach out to me because I'd love to speak!). On the other hand, there was a point toward the middle of 2024 where I had one of the laureates reach out to me to arrange an interview because she'd heard of the project from someone else; that of course was immensely gratifying and reassured me the project was gaining traction.
D
Have you noted particular points of interest that distinguish poets in one part of the
country from another?
M
I don't know if there are clear regional differences and similarities I've noticed, but there is certainly a spectrum of folks working as laureates across the country. They're all writing about so many different things, whether it's regional history or personal experiences or local geography. I'm living abroad at the moment in London (I can't tell you how thankful I am for the wonders of modern technology that have allowed me to put this project together an ocean away from the U.S.); while I've loved being in the U.K., my time here has also reminded me that one of the great strengths of the U.S. is how much of a patchwork it is with so many different kinds of places and people stretched out across so much space. All of which is to say, the main unifying factor I've noticed so far is how distinct each of these voices is.
D
You are creating a national resource. What supports your work and how can people
read your interviews?
M
Oh, thanks for describing the project with such kind words, David. My hope is that this project can serve as both an entertainment and education resource and maybe even a bit of a minor archive of this moment in American history. At the moment the work is pretty much a solo endeavour. Now that I'm almost halfway done with all of the states, I'm starting to look around for any institutional partners who would be interested in supporting the project to its completion. For the time being, you can find all of the pieces and subscribe to receive new one as they come out at hoisch.substack.com.
D
Is there anything else you want to add to our conversation?
M
I'm just all too grateful to you David for your support and encouragement. Like you said, I met you when I interviewed you for the project and it's been really lovely to stay in touch over email ever since. I know when I send out new pieces, I can almost always rely on a kind word and a quick update from you in reply. That's been another unexpected benefit of this project that I've thoroughly enjoyed. I hope that somehow this project spurs other similar connections between disparate people who are trying to see a bit more beauty in this wild experiment called America.
Matt, you are a good sport to agree to this Q/A article today. I am glad to be part of your project and always look forward to your next interview. Thank you very much.
A few months ago I was contacted by MATT HOISCH, an award-winning writer and broadcast journalist who graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from Harvard University and added graduate studies at the University of Cambridge. His radio and television work have been featured on NPR and PBS stations across the U.S. He has two Emmy Awards.
Matt’s newest work he calls The Laureate Project. He says, “Most states in the U.S. have a poet laureate or a similar position. The ubiquity of this role is worth pausing to contemplate. Somehow, a significant majority of American states—regardless of location, population size, or political leaning—have decided it is worth devoting publicly funded time and resources toward selecting and supporting government-appointed authors…At a time of seemingly bottomless polarization and bitterness in so many corners of American life, what can we learn from these bards? What would it feel like to take a tour of this sprawling country via the eyes, ears, and sensibilities of its publicly-sanctioned poets? This series of audio collages is an attempt to do that. To stay up to date on the Laureate Project, subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or SoundCloud and follow me on Substack.”
Matt interviewed me at length by phone and I felt good about how it went. He is now publishing the results of his talks online. So far they have included the poets laureate of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, and Missouri. If you’d like to know more about Matt, here is a link to his website. https://www.hoisch.com/ . If you would like to hear his interview with me, click here. https://hoisch.substack.com/p/missouri-david-l-harrison and click the arrow on the right just above my picture. If you’d like to subscribe to the series and support Matt’s work, there’s information about how to do that. My thanks to Matt Hoisch for his ambitious project and outstanding work.
Children's Author David L. Harrison's Blog 