State of Montana Newsroom
Allen Morris Jones Named Montana Poet Laureate for 2025–2027
HELENA, MT -- The Montana Arts Council is pleased to announce that Governor Gianforte has named Allen Morris Jones of Bozeman as Montana’s Poet Laureate for 2025–2027.
With a 30-year career in writing and publishing, Jones has published more than 100 poems, essays, profiles, short stories and incidental pieces. His most recent book of poetry, Mumblecusser (Drumlummon Institute, 2023) won the High Plains Book Award, and was his second book to be named an honor book by the Montana Book Awards.
Jones said he is thrilled to be carrying on the work of previous poets laureate like Mark Gibbons, Mandy Smoker Broaddus, Melissa Kwasny, and Chris La Tray. “I’ve watched as some of the finest writers in the country have sat in this laureate chair and advocated for poetry and literature even while shaping the public dialogue. I’m grateful that I now have the opportunity to continue their work.”
Jones is the owner/publisher of Bangtail Press, which has published Montana writers like Paul Zarzyski, Rick DeMarinis, Aaron Parrett, and Russell Rowland. He was previously an acquiring editor for Globe Pequot Press/The Lyons Press, editor of Big Sky Journal and Books and Writers editor at New West. His first two novels (Last Year’s River and A Bloom of Bones) earned high acclaim, and his first children’s book, Montana for Kids, won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America.
Montana, Allen said, has one of the richest poetry traditions in America. “Going back at least to Richard Hugo, our writers have taught us how to see the landscape and our history, and helped us understand our place in both.”
Jones carries on the poet laureate baton from Métis poet and storyteller Chris La Tray, author of the award-winning memoir, Becoming Little Shell. In his two years as poet laureate, La Tray logged thousands of miles teaching and speaking about heritage, the land, and the importance of Indigenous languages.
About the Poet Laureate Program
The post of Montana Poet Laureate, created by the legislature in 2005, honors a citizen poet of exceptional talent and accomplishment. Nominations are submitted by citizens and reviewed by a committee of governor-appointed Arts Council members. The Poet Laureate of Montana is then selected by the Governor. Each poet laureate develops a program for his or her term designed to share and support the creation of poetry with the people of Montana, through personal appearances, virtual events, educational outreach, and other venues.
The Montana Arts Council is the agency of state government assigned to develop the creative potential of all Montanans, advance education, spur economic vibrancy, and revitalize communities through involvement in the arts.
More information about the Montana Arts Council here: art.mt.gov
Allen Morris Jones’s website: Allen Morris Jones — Author, Editor, Publisher
And his Substack is here: Storytelling for Human Beings | Allen Morris Jones | Substack