Ellen Waterston, poet, writer, and educator, was named the 11th Oregon Poet Laureate on Thursday, Aug. 15, by Governor Tina Kotek. The Bend writer is also known for founding the Writing Ranch and the Waterston Desert Writing Prize to celebrate literary arts in the High Desert. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, a Master of Arts in Archaeology from the University of Madagascar, and a Ph.D. in Humane Letters from OSU-Cascades. In 2024, she received the Literary Arts of Oregon’s Stewart H. Holbrook Award and Soapstone Bread and Roses Award.
“Ellen Waterston stands out for her commitment to community engagement, her focus on bringing different ways of living and different parts of the state together, and her notable ability to describe the moments, places, and people that make Oregon, Oregon,” Gov. Kotek said in a press release.
The Oregon Poet Laureate is decided by the governor’s office, Oregon Cultural Trust, and Oregon Humanities via a 20-person committee. The appointed recipient, who serves a two-year term and can be reappointed, is tasked with encouraging literacy and learning, nurturing the art of poetry, and tackling important issues of humanities and culture in Oregon. Waterston, who begins her term immediately, follows Anis Mojgani, Oregon Poet Laureate since 2020. During her time as Oregon Poet Laureate, Waterston will present 10 public readings per year in locations across Oregon to draw attention to the importance of the literary arts.
Ellen Waterston, while no stranger to community-building and achievement, is best known for her award-winning poetry, which draws from her experiences in southeast Oregon. She has published four poetry books — I Am Madagascar: On Moving West from New England; Between Desert Seasons; Vía Lactéa; and Hotel Domilocos — and has been featured in numerous anthologies, appeared in Writer’s Almanac, secured many residencies, and received awards including the Obsidian Prize for Poetry. Her literary nonfiction titles Walking the High Desert; Where the Crooked River Rises; and Then There Was No Mountain have garnered statewide attention and won various awards. Her newest essay collection, We Could Die Doing This, is forthcoming in Fall 2024, and her fifth book of poems is slated to follow.
Waterston began writing at a young age but has found fulfillment in many avenues throughout the literary world. In addition to being an author, she is also a professor in OSU Cascades’ Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing program. She founded the workshop and retreat program Writing Ranch, the Bend nonprofit The Nature of Words, and the Waterston Desert Writing Prize for nonfiction book proposals — now part of The High Desert Museum’s annual programming.
As both a literary voice and an advocate for the appreciation of nature, Waterston expresses her love for the high desert — and the totality of Oregon — with depth and dedication. Through profound observation of the ecological world, Waterston seeks to understand it by becoming part of it. Wherever the natural appears in writing, she explained in a previous interview with Literary Arts, it should do its best to relate beauty and fragility, and inspire others to preserve, protect, and care for it.
“Inspired by the example of the Poets Laureate who have preceded me, I am eager to share my love of poetry, place, and the power of the written word with Oregon’s diverse audiences,” said Waterston, “and to kindling creativity and community as I go.”
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