By Horace Holloman III
ATLANTA — Georgia State University graduate Emily Schulten (Ph.D. ’12) has always had a love for words. Now she’s using her passion to enhance the lives of the people in her community.
In April, Schulten was named poet laureate of Key West, Fla., and received fellowship funding from the Academy of American Poets.
The Academy of American Poets selects 22 poet laureates nationwide to receive $50,000 each, which is meant to enable poets to lead projects that enrich the lives of their community members and local youth.
Schulten will serve as Key West’s poet laureate for the next two years. She said she’s thrilled for the opportunity and looks forward to positively impacting her community.
“I knew when I was given this honor that I wanted to make the most of my term,” Schulten said. “While it feels wonderful, it also feels like a great opportunity to give back and to show people where poetry can fit into our little town. It’s a tremendous honor to be able to serve the community doing what I love the most.”
As part of her fellowship, Schulten will lead an initiative called the Seawall Society which includes a series of poetry workshops for young poets, a video anthology and poetry-themed playground installations.
“Each student will write a poem that will be recorded and become part of a video anthology on our website,” Schulten said. “We’ll also have a collaborative poem by the group printed on postcards to be distributed at local guest houses.”
In addition to her work as poet laureate, Schulten is a full-time professor at The College of the Florida Keys, where she teaches English and creative writing.
While teaching wasn’t an initial goal for Schulten, she said she’s fulfilled by teaching young writers about a subject she’s passionate about.
“I did not always want to be a teacher,” Schulten said. “But loving what I studied helped me love sharing that with others, particularly students who are excited about what you are teaching. It’s motivating and it also makes me rethink how I approach all levels of learners.”
Schulten, whose Ph.D. is in creative writing, credits Georgia State Professor of English David Bottoms for influencing her writing and teaching career. Bottoms, who died in 2023, served as Georgia’s poet laureate from 2000 to 2012.
“The work I did with David helped me understand how to teach,” Schulten said. “I still hear his voice when I am in my creative writing workshops with my students. I still have very close friends [from Georgia State] who are also writers. They are the people I go to when I need a scholarly or writing community.”
Schulten is working on her next book of poetry and said she plans to continue to find new ways to serve her community.
For more information about Georgia State’s English degree programs, visit the department website here.
Photo provided by Emily Schulten