Janie E. Bibbie Named Tompkins County Poet Laureate

Published on February 08, 2023

Last night the Tompkins County Legislature appointed Janie E. Bibbie as the County’s next Poet Laureate.

A resident of Tompkins County for 50 years, Ms. Bibbie serves as trustee, deaconess and leader of the caregiver group of Calvary Baptist Church and is a member of Business Leaders of Colors, GIAC’s Senior Program, and the Tompkins County Quilters Guild.  She is the author Alzheimer’s Up Close and Personal and twelve volumes of poetry, including Pieces of Life: Poems from Smooth and Broken Places and Keep Moving: Poems for What’s Next.

Ms. Bibbie is the 11th Poet Laureate to be appointed in Tompkins County.  She succeeds Dr. Christine Kitano, who served from 2021 through 2022.  The position of Tompkins County Poet Laureate was established by the Tompkins County Legislature in 2001 to honor local outstanding poets, integrate poetry into the community, enrich the education of our young people, and enhance the county’s position as a cultural center.

Explains Megan Barber, Executive Director of the Community Arts Partnership, which administers the Poet Laureate selection process, “We received nominations for eight outstanding local poets, each with unique ideas about how to put poetry in service to the community.  We are so excited about Janie’s appointment.”

Ms. Bibbie states, "I am honored to have the opportunity to encourage members of our community to join me in reading, writing, and sharing poetry.”

Amanda Champion, Tompkins County Legislator, had this to say: "The Tompkins County Poet Laureate plays an important role in uplifting the art of poetry in our community. Words have the power to inspire and transform lives. I look forward to seeing how Ms. Bibbie will share her gift of poetry with the residents of Tompkins County."