Gov. Tina Kotek has appointed longtime Bend poet and nonfiction author Ellen Waterston as Oregon Poet Laureate. The Oregon Cultural Trust, which funds the award, announced Waterston’s two-year appointment on Thursday.

“It’s an honor. It’s a challenge, and I’m very, very excited that Tina Kotek has recognized the vibrant literary community on the east side of the Cascades with this,” Waterston told The Bulletin.

“My father used to say, ‘If you paddle in milk long enough, it turns to cream,’” Waterston said. “I’ve been preaching poetry and prose in the Oregon outback for a long time. The work is its own reward for sure, but I have to say, with this appointment, things just got a lot creamier.”

Waterston’s accomplishments in the literary world are many. Her poetry collections include “Hotel Domilocos,” “Vía Lactéa” and “Between Desert Seasons.” Her nonfiction writings include “Walking the High Desert,” “Where the Crooked River Rises” and “Then There was No Mountain.” A new book of essays, “We Could Die Doing This,” is slated to publish in the fall.

Waterston’s new book inspired by Oregon Desert Trail

Waterston founded and directed the Bend literary festival The Nature of Words for over a decade and, more recently, founded The Writing Ranch, a for-profit concern offering workshops and retreats for emerging and experienced writers.

Her recent honors include receiving, in April, Literary Arts of Oregon’s Stewart H. Holbrook Award for significant contributions enriching Oregon’s literary community. In March, Waterston was given Soapstone’s Bread and Roses Award, which honors women who have sustained the writing community.

The poet laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon, according to the Oregon Cultural Trust. Waterston is the state’s 11th poet laureate, succeeding slam poet Anis Mojgani, who was appointed in 2020. An official laureate ceremony will take place in the early fall.

“The main thing, once I recover from the shock and elation, is to map the next two years. My hope is to touch every county in that time in some way, shape or form,” she said.

“The previous poet laureates, all 10 of them, set the bar high. I aim to keep it there.”