Bess Truitt (1884–1972) served as the

Oklahoma Poet Laureate The Poet Laureate of Oklahoma is the poet laureate for the U.S. state of Oklahoma. List of Poets Laureate *Violet McDougal – 1923–1931 * Paul Kroeger – 1931–1940 *Jennie Harris Oliver – 1940–1942 * Della Ione Young – 1943–19 ...

from 1945 to 1946. Since no poet laureate was appointed directly after her, Truitt also served as poet laureate emeritus from 1946 to 1963.Patricia Yarbrough, "Poets Laureate," The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, www.okhistory.org (accessed August 10, 2018). http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PO002

Biography

Bess Truitt was born in Madison, Iowa, in 1883.Holliday, Shawn, "1945-1963 Bess Truitt," ''The Oklahoma Poets Laureate'' pgs. 89-93 Her family lived briefly in Kansas, and moved to Enid, Oklahoma due to the

land run A land run or land rush was an event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened to homestead on a first-arrival basis. Lands were opened and sold first-come or by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run. The s ...

in 1893. She graduated

Enid High School Enid High School (EHS) is a public tertiary school in Enid, Oklahoma, U.S., operated by the Enid Public Schools school district. With a student body of about 2035 in grades 9-12, Enid High School has a matriculation rate of about 65 percent. Some ...

in 1901 and obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from

Phillips University Phillips University was a private university Enid, Oklahoma. It opened in 1906 and closed in 1998. It was affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It included an undergraduate college and a graduate seminary. The university wa ...

. She also attended Valparaiso University and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. Prior to becoming the Poet Laureate of Oklahoma, she was employed as a teacher, Garfield County Clerk, travel agent, and for the Department of American Citizenship in Oklahoma. She released one poetry collection ''Thistle Down and Prairie Rose'' (Burton Publishing) in December 1940. Her work was anthologized in the ''Anthology of Poetry by Oklahoma Writers'', ''Anthology of the General Federation of Women's Clubs'', and the ''Anthology of Newspaper Verse''. She edited a newspaper column entitled, "Port o' Poets," ''Range Rhymes and Recollections'', ''Journal of the Sons and Daughters of the Cherokee Strip'', and ''Red Earth Poetry Magazine''. Her work also appeared in ''Chronicles of Oklahoma'', ''Oklahoma State Senate Journal'', ''Oklahoma Today'', and the ''Enid Morning News''. She served as president of the Enid Writer's Club, the National League of American Pen Women, and the Oklahoma Poetry Society. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1959, and in 1966, received the Pride of the Plainsmen Award by

. She died in 1972.

References

{{OK Poets Laureate, state=expanded American poets Poets Laureate of Oklahoma Writers from Enid, Oklahoma Phillips University alumni Enid High School alumni 1880s births 1972 deaths

Biography

See also

References