Highlights
- Governor Katie Hobbs appointed Dr. Laura Tohe as Arizona Poet Laureate on January 14, 2026.
- Tohe is only the second person to hold the position since the state established it in 2012.
- Tohe previously served as Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation from 2015 to 2019 and taught English at ASU for 24 years.
- Her programming targets rural and tribal communities through workshops designed to expand literary access.
Governor Katie Hobbs appointed Dr. Laura Tohe as Arizona Poet Laureate on January 14, 2026, filling a position that had sat vacant for eight years and making Tohe only the second person to hold the role since the state created it in 2012.
Tohe brings a resume built on both institutional standing and community reach. She spent 24 years as a professor of English at Arizona State University, retiring as professor emerita, and holds a doctoral degree in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2025 she received the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award. Before the state appointment, she served as Poet Laureate of the Navajo Nation from 2015 to 2019.
The Arizona Commission on the Arts, which administers the position, describes the laureate's charge as championing American poetry, inspiring emerging literary artists, and educating Arizonans about the art form. Tohe's stated focus extends that mandate into underserved geography: workshops aimed at rural and tribal communities, with the explicit goal of breaking down barriers to literary participation, according to reporting by the Arizona Capitol Times.
The Arizona Capitol Times and KNAU both covered the appointment. The ASU News office also confirmed Tohe's faculty history and the January appointment date.
Tohe's workshop calendar and public programming schedule are expected through the Arizona Commission on the Arts.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- azgovernor.gov retrieved 28/08/2026 18:22
- azcapitoltimes.com retrieved 28/08/2026 18:22
- azarts.gov retrieved 28/08/2026 18:22
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 28/08/2026 18:22. Every claim traces to a source.
