Kim Stafford is a writer and teacher in Portland, Oregon. He has traveled and taught at a dozen colleges, and is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose. "The most important literature of our time is the not-yet-written. Every writer, every student, every voice will be required to make democracy real." He was appointed in May 2018 by Gov. Kate Brown as Oregon's state-wide poet laureate for a two-year term.