Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session

Georgia House Bill HR314 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	25 LC 112 3050
2	2	House Resolution 314
3	3	By: Representatives Campbell of the 35
4	4	th
5	5	, Cummings of the 39
6	6	th
7	7	, Jones of the 60
8	8	th
9	9	, Evans of
10	10	the 57
11	11	th
12	12	, Willis of the 55
13	13	th
14	14	, and others
15	15	A RESOLUTION
16	16	Recognizing and celebrating Chelsea Rathburn as the distinguished Poet Laureate of
17	17	1
18	18	Georgia; and for other purposes. 2
19	19	WHEREAS, Chelsea Rathburn has long been recognized by the citizens of this state for her3
20	20	critically acclaimed poetry and creative collections, having been appointed as Poet Laureate4
21	21	of the State of Georgia in 2019 and serving as an ambassador for poetry and a champion of5
22	22	the literary arts in Georgia; and6
23	23	WHEREAS, born in Jacksonville and raised in Miami, Florida, Chelsea Rathburn has deep7
24	24	roots in the State of Georgia, where her mother's family has lived since the 1830s; and8
25	25	WHEREAS, Rathburn holds a B.A. from Florida State University and an M.F.A. from the9
26	26	University of Arkansas. Rathburn moved to Young Harris from Decatur, Georgia, where she10
27	27	taught poetry workshops at Emory University and chaired the poetry track for the Decatur11
28	28	Book Festival; and12
29	29	WHEREAS, Chelsea Rathburn now lives in Young Harris, Georgia, with her husband, the13
30	30	poet James Davis May, and their daughter; Chelsea Rathburn is currently an associate14
31	31	professor of English-Creative Writing at Mercer University; and15
32	32	H. R. 314
33	33	- 1 - 25 LC 112 3050
34	34	WHEREAS, the position of Georgia's Poet Laureate was established in 1925. As the state's
35	35	16
36	36	Poet Laureate, Rathburn is an ambassador for the literary arts in Georgia, championing the17
37	37	rich legacy of Georgia's writers both past and present and cultivating new audiences. She also18
38	38	judges the Poet Laureate's Prize, an annual state-wide high school contest. In this role,19
39	39	Rathburn serves every corner of the state, voicing the value of reading, writing, literacy, and20
40	40	storytelling in the lives of every Georgian; and21
41	41	WHEREAS, Chelsea Rathburn is the author of three poetry collections, A Raft of Grief22
42	42	(2013), The Shifting Line (2005), and Still Life with Mother and Knife (2019), as well as the23
43	43	winner of the 2005 Richard Wilbur Award. Her poems have been widely published in the24
44	44	nation's top journals, including Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic, The25
45	45	Southern Review, New England Review, and Ploughshares, among others, while her prose26
46	46	has been published in the nation's most esteemed journals, including Creative Nonfiction and27
47	47	Ploughshares. In 2009, she received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts;28
48	48	and29
49	49	WHEREAS, in 2021, Rathburn received a Poets Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of30
50	50	American Poets to implement Georgia Poetry in the Parks, poetry trails featuring poems by31
51	51	contemporary Georgia poets, in partnership with the Georgia Center for the Book and the32
52	52	DeKalb Library Foundation; and33
53	53	WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this34
54	54	remarkable, dedicated, and distinguished Georgian be appropriately recognized.35
55	55	NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that36
56	56	the members of this body recognize and celebrate Chelsea Rathburn as the Poet Laureate of37
57	57	H. R. 314
58	58	- 2 - 25 LC 112 3050
59	59	Georgia as well as extend to her their most sincere wishes for continued success and
60	60	38
61	61	happiness.39
62	62	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized40
63	63	and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to41
64	64	Chelsea Rathburn.42
65	65	H. R. 314
66	66	- 3 -