Miami-Dade County’s new official Poet Laureate is also the woman who spearheaded the creation of the program in 2022 while serving in the county mayor’s office: Nicole Tallman.
Tallman is a published poet who also works in the mayor’s office as Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer of the county, Jimmy Morales. She was also the Poetry Ambassador for the county.
“ I think she just kind of felt like it was the right timing for this,” Tallman said of the mayor choosing her for the role. “ This is really a dream come true.”
Tallman said her goal as Poet Laureate is to do more collaborative poetry projects with county residents, and to find ways to merge poetry with the county’s thriving music scene.
She is hosting a poetry event at Books & Books in Coral Gables on April 28 called Songs of America, in which seven poets will perform pieces in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the nation.
Over the last few years, Tallman hosted a lunchtime poetry and jazz series at the Main Library. She's also an editor of the South Florida Poetry Journal and the Blue Mountain Review.
During her tenure in the new position, Tallman said she wants to lay groundwork for the longevity of poetry in the county.
“My plan is to move the program under the library going forward — out of the mayor's office and into the library — so that we can continue it in the future after the mayor's tenure. And then also to open it up for an application process so that poets in the community can apply to be the poet, and democratize the process a little bit,” said Tallman.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the creation of the poet laureate position — which is unpaid — is important for the county’s cultural realm and will be an important part of her legacy.
Richard Blanco, who was also the national Poet Laureate and who performed at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, was the first county poet laureate. Caridad Moro-Gronlier has been the Poet Laureate from 2024 through Wednesday. Tallman will be the last Poet Laureate Levine Cava names during her second term as mayor.
“ The fact that I have three poets who have written about the importance of this community and of the themes that are unique and special creates a balance to some of the challenges that we face helps to elevate the importance of arts in our community,” said Levine Cava.
The mayor said a forthcoming project — Miami Moves Me — will be launched that will feature poetry on county buses and trains. That will be in addition to poems that are already featured in transit routes. Six new poems this month will be on rotation on digital screens seen inside Metrorail stations, including one from Tallman and one from Blanco and Moro-Gronlier, the former county poet laureates.
The announcement of a new Poet Laureate for the county marked the first day of National Poetry Month, and also the starting date for South Florida’s marquis month-long poetry festival O, Miami.
