Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda was appointed Poet Laureate, 2006-2008, for the Commonwealth of Virginia by Governor Timothy M. Kaine.  She is the author of Contrary Visions (Scripta Humanistica, 1988), Gathering Light (SCOP Publications, Inc., 1993), Death Comes Riding (SCOP Publications, Inc., 1999), Greatest Hits, 1981-2000 (Puddinghouse Press, 2001), River Country (San Francisco Bay Press, 2008), as well as co-editor of two poetry anthologies, In a Certain Place (SCOP Publications, Inc., 2000) and Four Virginia Poets Laureate: A Teaching Guide (The Poetry Society of Virginia, 2006).  Her poems have appeared throughout the United States and abroad in numerous publications, including Nimrod, Cauteloso engaño del sentido, Prairie Schooner, Poet Lore, Mid-American Review, Antioch Review, Bay Splash, and Passages North.  Carolyn holds a B.A. from the University of Mary Washington and two Master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from George Mason University, where she received the university’s first doctorate.  In 2007 both universities gave her the Alumna of the Year Award.  Her many poetry honors include three Pushcart Prize nominations; an Edgar Allan Poe First Place award;  a finalist in "Discovery" The Nation poetry contest; a Passages North competition award; a Spree First Place award; a Phoebe First Place award; three Artist-in-Education grants and an Arts-on-the-Road grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.  In 1992, she was named a Virginia Cultural Laureate for her contributions to American Literature.  Carolyn is also a visual artist, whose paintings have been widely displayed in galleries, nursing homes, and educational settings.  She lives in the Tidewater region of Virginia with her husband, Patricio.

Website: www.carolynforonda.com