NAPA, Calif. – The Napa County Board of Supervisors recently named local resident Jeremy Benson as the community’s new poet laureate.

Benson, 30, moved to Napa in 2012 to pursue a career in organic farming.

He holds a degree in creative writing from Hope College in Holland, Mich.

“A poem creates community,” Benson wrote in his application. “ …Most of my poetic engagement has been to encourage and sustain a community of poets and poetry lovers.”

The Napa County Library, in partnership with Arts Council Napa Valley, conducted the search for Napa County’s poet laureate earlier this year.

The special honor has been supported by the county for almost a decade.

Benson has performed in various open mic nights throughout the community and holds informal workshops to connect with local poets.

He succeeds outgoing Poet Laureate Beclee Wilson, who served in the honorary volunteer position for a two-year term.

“We thank Beclee for her service in bringing poetry to the community and are excited to welcome Jeremy,” said Danis Kreimeier, director of Library Services and Community Outreach.

As an ambassador for poetry, the poet laureate creates an awareness of poetry, forges meaningful connections with the community, and undertakes projects that make poetry more available and accessible to people in their everyday lives.