A Conversation with Alabama’s Youngest and First Black Poet Laureate as Her Term Comes to an End

December 12, 2025

Ashley M. Jones is concluding her four-year tenure as Alabama's first Black and youngest poet laureate at the end of 2025. During her time in this role, she gained national recognition through appearances on "Good Morning America" and in a Secret deodorant commercial, while maintaining her focus on making poetry accessible to diverse audiences across Alabama through workshops and community engagement.

Who is affected

Ashley M. Jones (outgoing Alabama poet laureate)
Jacqueline Allen Trimble of Montgomery (incoming poet laureate taking over in January 2026)
Five Alabama-based poets empowered through the Alabama Poetry Delegation
Various groups Jones led workshops for including seminary students, businesspeople, children, and older people across Alabama
Artists and arts organizations facing funding cuts
Black women in the South (addressed in her poetry collections)

What action is being taken

Jones is currently serving as Associate Director of the University Honors Program at UAB
Jones is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia
Jones is leading workshops across the state and beyond for diverse groups

Why it matters

Jones's tenure represents a significant milestone as Alabama's first Black and youngest poet laureate, breaking barriers in a state with complex racial history. Her work matters because she has democratized poetry by bringing it directly to diverse communities rather than keeping it confined to academic or elite spaces, demonstrating that "poetry can do so much in people's lives" beyond the written page. Her honest portrayal of Alabama—acknowledging both its beauty and its troubling history—challenges simplified narratives about the South while honoring the revolutionary legacy of figures like John Lewis and Bryan Stevenson. Her emphasis on authenticity and community building, especially during times of arts funding cuts, provides a model for how artists can maintain integrity while achieving national recognition.

What's next

Jacqueline Allen Trimble will become Alabama's poet laureate in January 2026
Jones has a prose book titled "What the Mirror Said: The Necessity of Black Women in Poetry" coming out in April, combining personal essays with close reading of nine Black women poets
Jones plans to finish her doctoral degree within the next five years
Jones intends to continue teaching and writing
Jones expressed personal goals to get married, have children, and learn how to rest

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint