Colorado's new poet laureate said he plans to widen poetry's reach by visiting every corner of the state and connecting with people through poetry.

“I believe that my ability to impact and/or shape culture lives most-authentically in my connection to people through art,” Bobby LeFebre said in a news release. “I am invested in cultural change. Poets are always at the forefront of influencing and changing culture, and before we see large-scale social or political change, it is the heart and soul of issues that change first.”

LeFebre was named by Gov. Jared Polis as the new Colorado poet laureate, succeeding Joseph Hutchison.

“Bobby LeFebre has an amazing ability to empower and connect communities through the wisdom of his words; that is why we are confident he will make a fantastic Poet Laureate,” Polis said in the news release. “He embodies the spirit of a 'Colorado for All' where everyone is included. I know he will be a strong advocate for the arts and art education as a way to bring us together."

LeFebre is an award-winning writer, performer, and cultural and social worker with “indigenous roots in the San Luis Valley that predate statehood.”

LeFebre serves as a commissioner for the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs, fellow of the Intercultural Leadership Institute, and an advisory board member of the Latino Cultural Arts Center and many other cultural organizations, including the Clyfford Still Museum and La Raza.

As a co-founder of Cafe Cultura, he also produces Interfest, an arts and ideas festival “for liberationists to radically engage, boldly express and joyously unify as a community.”

The poet laureate position was created to promote an appreciation of poetry in Colorado and to honor outstanding Colorado poets, the news release said. The poet laureate serves as an active advocate for poetry, literacy, and literature by participating in readings and other events at schools, libraries, literary festivals and the state Capitol.

The poet laureate will also provide the governor with an annual account of the impact and success of the Colorado poet laureate program and prepare a poem for the opening of the legislative session upon request.

Colorado Humanities & Center for the Book and Colorado Creative Industries jointly support the honorary position, providing a $2,000 honoraria and up to $2,000 in travel expenses related to public presentations for each of the four years of the term.

To read more about the Colorado Poet Laureate program, visit coloradohumanities.org. To contact LeFebre, email poetlaureate@coloradohumanities.org.