The Poet Laureate
The Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida is an area resident honored by Emerald Coast Writers for his or her record as a published poet and whose work is regarded by the community as representative of this region. Former poet laureates include Adelia Rosasco-Soule (1986), a world traveler and author of several books including Panhandle Memories; Leonard A. Temme (1989), PhD, a research physiologist with Naval Aerospace Medical Research Lab; Mary Hood (1992), PhD, a professor of microbiology at University of West Florida; Laurie O'Brien (1995), the Director of the Creative Writing Program and Associate Professor of English at University of West Florida; Dr. Henry Langhorne II (2003), MD, a Pensacola cardiologist; Juliet Z. DeMarko, MA, former restauranteur, and chef; and Jamey Jones, MFA, college instructor, and author; and Katherine Nelson-Born, Editor and Author (2020).
Asia Samsom
Spoken Word Poet
Asia Samson is a professional spoken word artist who has toured over 2000 colleges all over the country since 2006. He’s been seen on HBO Def Poetry Jam, Ted Talks, the Story Conference, Entrepreneur’s Conference, Button Poetry, NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, and So Far Sounds. He has worked with companies like Disney, To Write Love On Her Arms, Nokia Mobile & most recently, the US Military. He has broken college-booking records for the most booked poetry act garnering him the awards of APCA College Performer of the Year and thrice the APCA Spoken Word Artist of the Year.