Poet Laureate Task Force October 5, 2026

The City of St. Louis Poet Laureate Task Force met on October 5, 2026, to develop funding principles and a discovery plan for sustaining the poet laureate program. The task force approved principles calling for funding that is sustainable, predictable, administratively straightforward, supportive of both the laureate’s compensation and programming, drawn from diverse sources, and guided by clear expectations and accountability. Members expressed opposition to corporate funding while noting private donors and city funding mechanisms as options to investigate. No specific budget, contract, vendor, or procurement award was discussed.

The task force also approved discovery priorities, including estimating annual program costs and the compensation and expenses associated with the role; identifying legally available city funding mechanisms and approval requirements; benchmarking comparable programs; and examining governance, program placement, and accountability. Pam and Imani took the annual-cost research, Kyle—with support from Christine—took the city-funding research, and Nick took benchmarking research. Governance and accountability were discussed, but a specific owner was not clearly identified. The selection process will receive further discussion at a subsequent meeting.