MONTEREY COUNTY — Arts Council for Monterey County (Arts4MC) has named Marie Boucher, also known as Marie Butcher, as the 2026-27 Monterey County Poet Laureate.
Boucher officially assumed the role on Jan. 1, 2026, beginning a two-year term through December 2027.
The honorary position celebrates the county’s cultural heritage and encourages literacy and literature in the community. During her tenure, Boucher will promote poetry and creative expression through public readings, workshops and a signature community project. She will receive a $5,000 honorarium from Arts4MC for her service.
“The Poet Laureate program is part of our mission to champion the arts to enrich the lives of our community,” said Jacquie Atchison, executive director of Arts4MC. “Poetry is one of many art forms, and we look forward to the creative energy and community outreach Marie will bring to the roles, especially her focus on connecting us with the natural world and each other.”
The selection process was competitive, involving an application and nomination period, followed by evaluation by a panel of literary experts: Janice Rock, Garland Thompson Jr., Rachelle Escamilla, Jesus Valenzuela Felix and Nura Agzamova-Turek.
On Dec. 9, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors presented a resolution officially recognizing Boucher as the county’s poet laureate. The presentation took place at the Government Center Building in Salinas, where Boucher also read two personal poems, “We Are But Guests” and “To the Children of This Land.”
Boucher is the assistant professor and program head for English for Academic and Professional Purposes at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey. She co-leads the annual International Poetry Week and monthly International Poetry Gatherings in Monterey.
Her poems, often exploring humanity’s relationship with the natural world, have appeared in the Monterey Poetry Review, Porter Gulch Review, Poet’s Choice and Solo Novo. She is also editor-in-chief of the upcoming multilingual anthology “Doves Born of Flames: Poems of Resilience from Many Lands.”
