Meet Roscoe Burnems, Richmond’s first poet laureate
On January 20, 2021, when Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history as she presented her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the inauguration ceremony for President Joseph R. Biden, the world experienced the power of poetry.
Just one week earlier, the city of Richmond announced that Douglas Powell — known as Roscoe Burnems when he is onstage — would become the city’s first poet laureate.