Honorary Poet Laureate
We are honored and thrilled to share that Humanities Iowa is posthumously designating Lucille Morgan Wilson as Honorary Poet Laureate, a first-of-its-kind recognition.
Lucille Morgan Wilson (1925-2021)
This honor was posthumously awarded to Lucille Morgan Wilson during the 2024 Poetry Palooza Welcome Reception. The photo below shows her family receiving the honor on her behalf.
At Iowa Poetry Association, we are ever grateful to Lucille for her tireless dedication in promoting poetry across Iowa. She served as IPA Treasurer 1975-76, IPA President 1976-1978, then 1988-2016 as IPA Editor-in-chief of our annual Lyrical Iowa anthology and quarterly newsletters.
Lucille managed the annual IPA contests, writing thousands of encouraging notes and helpful suggestions to aspiring poets over the years. Lucille was also board member and Treasurer of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, among many other service positions, earning her the Interfaith Service Award by the Des Moines Area Religious Council in 1996 and was the first recipient of the Robert D Ray Iowa SHARES Humanitarian Award recognizing her 30 years with the Des Moines Area Hunger Hike.
Thank you to Humanities Iowa for this distinguished acknowledgement of Lucille's contributions. And thank you to all who sent in testimonials in support of Lucille.
Lucille Morgan Wilson's family accepting the Honorary Poet Laureate award on her behalf during the 2024 Poetry Palooza event.
Excerpt from Lucille's poem, "In Any Langauge"
In any language hunger is an ugly word
There is no music in hunger
The rumble of empty stomachs
The monotonous whine of a child waste with disease
The moan of the mother whose baby lies bloated and still in her arms
Hunger is the listless den of apathy
Bred of weakness
The faded brown and grey of dead leaves after autumn has ebbed.