Poet in Residence
Ava Leavell Haymon
Ava Leavell Haymon, Poet Laureate of the State of Louisiana 2013-2015, is a poet, playwright, editor, and teacher. She has published widely, both in journals and in anthologies. Her latest full-length collection, from LSU Press, is ELDEST DAUGHTER. She teaches poetry writing classes, directs workshops, reads her poems widely in the United States and in Canada, and edits the Barataria Poetry Series for LSU Press. Her poems have been set to music and premiered by a number of classical and jazz composers. A number of her poems were used in the CD “Watercolors,” by Robert Nelson. She lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with longsuffering husband, and, after much practice and a few lessons, plays the mandolin very badly.