Lexington resident named Massachusetts’ first poet laureate

Gov. Maura Healey named Lexington resident Regie Gibson, who performs thought-provoking poetry on social issues and human experiences, Massachusetts’ inaugural poet laureate last week. 

In this new role, Gibson will encourage the appreciation of poetry and creative expression by organizing and performing at events. He’ll also advise the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on a poetry-focused outreach program.

Gibson is also an artistic director of pedagogy at the Arts for Social Cohesion, an organization that leverages the arts and psychology to strengthen communities, and teaches poetry courses at Berklee College of Music and Clark University.

“Much of my work has concentrated on what words actually do in a public space with ears,” Gibson told the Observer. “That is why I call what I do a literary performance — it’s about finding the words and saying them in the right way to move the most people who hear them.”

Gibson writes about citizenship, community, philosophical subjects such as what it means to be a human today, and lesser-known historical figures such as American suffragist Lucy Stone. Sometimes he’s contracted to write and perform poems on certain topics such as climate change and disaster relief.

Gibson told the Observer he’s grateful the governor is investing in literature now because the federal government is working to cut funding for the arts. He said the state’s creation of this role shows its support of eloquent resistance — using language to challenge ideas.

“This seems to be an auspicious occasion for this because of the attack against the arts and the attack against expression,” Gibson said. “I’m so glad that at a time when art’s positions are shrinking, we have a governor who said, ‘we’re going to grow and go forward.’” 

“Regie Gibson is a talented poet with a proven commitment to community engagement and a deep appreciation for the history, beauty, and resilience of our state and our people. He sees his poetry as a means of bringing people together, finding common ground and building stronger communities,” Healey said in the state’s press release on Gibson’s appointment.

“Our administration has been committed to supporting arts and culture across Massachusetts, and today’s announcement is an exciting step toward promoting creative expression from the Berkshires to the Cape,” Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said in that press release. 

Expression is an integral part of Gibson’s work. He believes delivering poetry with your voice is a key part of why music evokes nostalgia or historical moments such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech remain memorable. 

“There would have been a qualifiedly different reaction to [MLK Jr.’s speech] if someone said, we’ll read it and then we’ll get together and talk about his five points,” Gibson argued. “What brought it to the historic level that we remember is…there was a human voice behind it, there was pitch, and tone, and intonation, and inflection, and pausing… — that’s what made that moment, not necessarily the speech itself.”

And there were people crowded next to each other, listening, as MLK Jr. delivered that speech, Gibson noted. That human connection is another powerful aspect of poetry, he argued, spoken or not.

“I can read a poem that was written 300 years ago and…what an individual was feeling back then communicates something to me right now and I realize that I’m not alone,” he said. “I think it’s important that we see ourselves in this chain of being and I think poetry is a way we get to that.”

Humans’ need for that type of connection is why Gibson isn’t worried that poetry could be at risk with artificial intelligence, or AI, on the rise. 

“When you see an “I” in a poem, we assume it’s autobiographical and we assume it’s speaking for a person or a group of individuals,” said Gibson. “We don’t have such an assumption with AI.”

In this new role, Gibson hopes to work with other poets to foster connection and community across the state. One of his goals is to ensure Massachusetts has an infrastructure that can support future poet laureates. He also aims to meet with all 18 local poet laureates who he said are keeping “the poetry fires fanned” to share whatever resources he has with them. 

Lexington is not one of those 18 communities with a poet laureate. Gibson calls on the town to create a role and hire a poet laureate who could perform at schools, the library, and town celebrations such as Discovery Day or Lex250. 

Gibson said he is “desirous and fearful” of the responsibilities that come with being the state’s poet laureate because he wants to “do it right.” 

“That healthy fear, it’s the thing that keeps me crossing my t’s and dotting my i’s,” he said. “It’s saying, ‘you have to approach this with respect for the people who you are serving.’”