Governor Mead Names Gagliano New Poet Laureate

By executive order, Governor Matt Mead on Monday named Eugene Gagliano as Wyoming's eighth Poet Laureate.

Gagliano is a retired elementary school teacher from Buffalo and a recipient of the 2001 Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award and the International Reading Association's 2004 Wyoming State Literacy Award.

"Gene writes for all audiences," said Governor Mead. "He has written award-winning children's books and adult poetry that celebrates life in Wyoming and the West."

Gagliano's published works include Dee and the Mammoth; C is for Cowboy, a Wyoming Alphabet; Four Wheels West, a Wyoming Number Book; My Teacher Dances on the Desk and Prairie Parcels.

"I am honored and privileged to be a part of the poets who have been Poet Laureates," said Gagliano. "It's another venue for me to get out to kids and talk about reading and writing, inspiring them and encouraging them."