Faculty member and former Poet Laureate of North Carolina Joseph Bathanti has been awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, an honor which is given to individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state of North Carolina. Other notable recipients include Maya Angelou, Bob Timberlake, Coretta Scott King, and Doc Watson.
“Receiving the Order of the Long Leaf Pine is a tremendous honor, especially in light of those who have received it over the years,” says Bathanti.
In addition to becoming North Carolina’s seventh poet laureate, Bathanti recently received the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry for his latest work, “Concertina”, and is on the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Humanities Council. Bathanti is a faculty member in Appalachian’s Department of English, and is also Writer in Residence at Watauga Residential College.
To learn more about Joseph Bathanti, please visit his webpage.