Women Who Write | A Place, A Space, A Voice | Louisville, Kentucky 
Women Who Write is pleased to congratulate Lexington poet, author, lyricist and teacher George Ella Lyon on her appointment as the Kentucky poet laureate for 2015-16. Writers who attended the 2013 Women Who Write writing workshop will recall George Ella’s great keynote presentation.
George Ella Lyon is a graduate of Centre College and earned her MA in English at the University of Arkansas and a doctorate in English from Indiana University. During her career, she has taught, served as a writer-in-residence, a visiting author and workshop leader. George Ella has written more than 40 books that include poetry and short story collections. She is perhaps best known for her “Where I’m From” poem, which has been used in writing classes and workshops around the world.
In a news release issued by the Kentucky Arts Council, she said, “I’m always trying to help people hear their own voices, their own stories and know that those matter; that they have weight and beauty and that they are worth sharing. Part of that is listening deeply to what people write or the questions they ask. Many people are afraid of poetry because they don’t understand it. I hope to reach past that and welcome them, and that they infuse poetry into their everyday language