By Javacia Harris Bowser
The Birmingham Times
At the center of all she does, from serving as founding director of the Magic City Poetry Festival to teaching creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) and holding many board positions, the mission remains simple for Birmingham’s Ashley M. Jones – make poetry accessible to all.
“For too long, poetry has been deemed a purely academic pursuit, and it has been kept behind an ivory gate, but where the heartbeat of poetry has always lived is in the souls of poets,” Jones said. “I hope to celebrate that soul work for the next four years and beyond.”
In August, Jones made history when she was named the first Black poet laureate for Alabama. Jones, 31, will also be the youngest person to hold the post, which officially begins for her in 2022 and will last until 2026.
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