Minneapolis Poet Laureate
The Minneapolis Poet Laureate represents the city’s literary community and helps connect people through poetry.
City of Minneapolis Poet Laureate Program
The Poet Laureate leads, creative, and community‑focused projects that share the power of poetry and create learning opportunities for the public. The Poet Laureate also takes part in City events and ceremonies, helping build a lasting literary legacy for Minneapolis. The City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department and The Loft Literary Center partner on the City’s Poet Laureate Program.
The Poet Laureate serves a two‑year term, from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2026.
City of Minneapolis Poet Laureate, 2025 / 2026
Junauda Petrus is a creative writer, playwright, and performance artist who was born in Minneapolis.
Her family comes from Trinidad and St. Croix. Her work celebrates Black culture, imagination, and healing. She mixes poetry and storytelling with history, dreams, and research.
Junauda is inspired by her parents and ancestors who came to the United States from the Caribbean. Her art reflects their strength, magic, and the difficult experiences passed down through generations.
She often explores themes like the Middle Passage, the African diaspora, and the lives of Black communities in Minneapolis. Her work includes ideas about ancestral magic, queerness, and womanhood, and she sometimes uses elements of fantasy and magical realism.
Junauda Petrus represents the creativity and cultural richness of Minneapolis. Her storytelling helps connect us to the past, understand the present, and imagine new futures.
Junauda has earned many honors, including:
A Jerome Travel and Study Grant to research queerness and African-inspired spiritual practices in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Many Voices Mentorship from the Playwrights’ Center to study playwriting.
Being named City Pages’ Artist of the Year in 2016.
Writing The Stars and the Blackness Between Them, which won a 2020 Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award.
Being a finalist for the 2023 Minnesota Book Award for her children’s book Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?
City of Minneapolis Inaugural Poet Laureate, 2024
Our first Poet Laureate, Heid E. Erdrich—who is also a curator and teacher—set a strong example for what this role can be. She showed how a Poet Laureate can bring people together and highlight the power of poetry in our community.
Working with the Loft Literary Center, the Poet Laureate is chosen through a review panel. The person selected represents some of the best in our arts community. Heid truly lived up to this standard.
During her term, she created more than 30 public events and connected with hundreds of poets, writers, and poetry fans. She also spoke at the State of the City, and her term ended with a special event at the Minneapolis American Indian Center, where she shared her official “Poem for Minneapolis.”
Heid E. Erdrich has earned many honors, including:
Author of nine books of poetry and prose
Editor of New Poets of Native Nations and co‑editor of Boundless: Abundance in Native American Art and Literature
Recipient of a $50,000 Academy of American Poets grant, supported by the Mellon Foundation
2025 James Welch Distinguished Visiting writer at the University of Montana Missoula
Creator of the Poetry Service Announcement (PoeSA) project, bringing poetry into public spaces
Mentor, event organizer, and community collaborator supporting poets and creative communities
Advocate for poets who are Native American, BIPOC, refugees of genocide, experiencing housing instability, impacted by the justice system, and youth voices
Poets Laureate poems and videos
Ritual on how to love Minneapolis Again
Junauda Petrus’ Ritual on how to love Minneapolis Again was read during the announcement of Junauda as the 2025–2026 Minneapolis Poet Laureate.
The poem highlights the city’s sounds, cultures, history, and communities, especially the experiences of Black, Native, and immigrant residents. It reflects on music, winter life, neighborhood memories, and the Mississippi River, while honoring both the struggles and the joys of living here.
Poem for Minneapolis
Bde Óta Othúŋwe/Gakaabikaang
Heid E. Erdrich’s “Poem for Minneapolis/Bde Óta Othúŋwe/Gakaabikaang” guides readers through a year in Minneapolis, describing people, places, and the four seasons. Erdrich brought in the voices of Minneapolis community members by hosting gatherings with activities like readings and poetry workshops.
The title uses the Dakota and Ojibwe names for the city, and the poem also includes other words and phrases from those Native languages.
Gathering of Poets Laureate:
Poets Building Community video
Gathering of Poets Laureate: Poets Building Community recap video.
On January 29, 2026, the event brought together art, storytelling, and public purpose, giving audiences a rare look at how poets help shape the places we call home.
The video includes excerpts from Poets Laureate Junauda Petrus, Gwen Westerman, and Heid E. Erdrich.
Poem for Minneapolis
Bde Óta Othúŋwe/Gakaabikaang video
Video coming soon!
This short film produced by TJ Turner brings Heid’s powerful words to life with rich visuals that celebrate the spirit, landscape, and people of Minneapolis.
It was created to honor and remember her time as the city’s first Poet Laureate, adding a visual layer that makes her poem easy for everyone to experience.
Program specifics
The Poet Laureate has several responsibilities during their two‑year term, including:
Writing a poem that reflects the current moment in the city of Minneapolis.
Celebrating the City of Minneapolis through public service, including giving three speeches each year at official City events.
Leading a public event that shares poetry and encourages community conversation.
Teaching two classes each year at the Loft Literary Center to show how poetry can help people connect.
Supporting the art of poetry in Minneapolis and helping people engage more deeply with their community.
Eligibility and selection
The Poet Laureate will be chosen by a panel of five judges through an open application process run by the Loft. To apply, a person must:
Be able to complete all required duties during the two‑year term
Be at least 21 years old
Be an active professional poet with work that has been published, performed, reviewed, or recognized
Have lived in Hennepin County for at least one year
Have a strong connection and commitment to the Minneapolis community
View poetry as a way to engage with, serve, and celebrate the people of Minneapolis
Not be a board member or full or part‑time employee of the Loft Literary Center.