Knoxville Poets Laureate: The Fearless Sun Cypher

R.B. MORRIS: KNOXVILLE’S FIRST POET LAUREATE

Writer, musician, and playwright R.B. Morris – whose poetry often reflects on East Tennessee culture and history – served as Knoxville’s first Poet Laureate 2016-2018.

Morris, a Knoxville native, created new works and performed readings in celebration of the 225th anniversary of Knoxville’s founding. He also interacted with schoolchildren, took part in poetry advocacy events and promoted various community outreach projects.

MARILYN KALLET: KNOXVILLE’S SECOND POET LAUREATE

Marilyn Kallet is the author of 19 books, including Even When We Sleep, poetry from Black Widow Press, 2022. Her poetry volumes include How Our Bodies Learned and Packing Light: New and Selected Poems, among others. Dr. Kallet translated Paul Eluard’s Last Love Poems and Benjamin Péret’s The Big Game. She served two terms as Knoxville Poet Laureate, June 27, 2018-June 2020. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Tennessee, where she directed the Creative Writing Program from 1986-2003 and then again from 2010 to 2015. Since 2009, she has led poetry groups in Auvillar, France, for the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her poetry has appeared in Plume; North American Review; Still: The Journal, Jewish Currents and Potomac Review, among many others.

RHEA “SUNSHINE” CARMON: KNOXVILLE’S THIRD POET LAUREATE

Award-winning wordsmith RheaSunshine is a force that weaves passion, purpose, and power into poetry. She is the creator and Executive Director of the 5th Woman Cohort, which explores the stories of women. Regardless of race, women share the same experiences, fears, joys, and more and the 5th Woman allows them to examine these moments without social and political barriers.

For 20 years, RheaSunshine has traveled the nation, sharing her gift of the spoken word and facilitating self-expression, liberation, and healing. This art form has led her to touch lives at universities and educational institutions as well as civic engagements and festivals. She has opened for such artists as Nikki Giovanni, Macy Gray, and Saul Williams and the world constantly expands to make room for her gift. Her upcoming fourth book release titled Through the Clouds explores her battle with Multiple Sclerosis.

BLACK ATTICUS: KNOXVILLE’S FOURTH POET LAUREATE

Black Atticus, a luminary of the burgeoning Southern hip-hop movement, emerges as a captivating force, celebrated for his unparalleled wordplay and lyrical prowess. As a prolific songwriter and dedicated hip-hop practitioner, he employs his verses not only to entertain but to elevate awareness, provoke critical thinking, and facilitate the healing journey between the mind and spirit, the head and heart.

Currently reigning as the Poet Laureate of The City of Knoxville, TN, Atticus is also the visionary founder of “Poboys & Poets,” a platform that unites poetry and hip hop to create profound, socially conscious art. Moreover, he stands as a co-founding member of the influential Good Guy Collective, a dynamic group dedicated to artistic excellence and community engagement.