Arianne True

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Poet Laureate of Washington State, 2023-2025

Arianne True earned an MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is from the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations and grew up in the Seattle writing community.

True was a 2020 Jack Straw Writer and a Hugo Fellow from 2020–21. She was the inaugural Native Artist-in-Residence at Seattle Repertory Theater (2021–22) and is the recipient of the 2022 Vadon Foundation Fellowship for Native Artists from Artist Trust.

True has taught with Writers in the Schools (WITS) and has mentored with the Seattle Youth Poet Laureate program as well as with Hugo House’s Young Writers Cohort. She has also been a guest lecturer at the University of Washington. True will serve as the Washington State poet laureate through 2025.