Jacksonville has a new lead of its literary community – though it is a familiar face.
Current Jacksonville librarian and former owner of Our Town Books Andy Mitchell has been named the new poet laureate of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard appointed Mitchell as the city’s second poet laureate after unanimous consent from the Jacksonville City Council.
Mitchell follows the late Dr. Joseph Kozma, who passed away in 2018.
Ezard told the city council that he had been thinking about naming Mitchell to the post for some time but the pandemic and a number of major projects caused his focus to shift. Ezard told the council it was the right time to name Mitchell to the position on the eve of the city’s bicentennial.
Ezard has already commissioned Mitchell to compose a lyric or two for the city’s 200th birthday.