Raleigh's Inaugural Poet Laureate Plans His Approach

Johnny Lee Chapman knows he's in uncharted territory. Selected as the inaugural City of Raleigh Poet Laureate, Mr. Chapman is aware that he's forging the path that others may feel they need to follow.

After a decade as a spoken word performer and visual artist, Mr. Chapman joked that if there's a microphone and a stage nearby, that would be an excellent place to look for him.

"That said," he admitted, "Just because I'm comfortable up there, I don't want the next person to feel like this is what the position should be.

Creation of the program

In the Spring of 2026, the City of Raleigh Arts Commission announced the Raleigh Poet Laureate program in partnership with the Raleigh Arts. The program will highlight Raleigh's contributions to the literary arts while also bringing attention to the voices of working poets in our community.

The Raleigh Poet Laureate will serve a two-year term to support the commissioning of new poems, the creation of a public program series, and service as an ambassador for the city's literary and creative communities.

Chapman's approach

So will Mr. Chapman come on cat's feet, sitting on silent haunches before moving on? Or will he bore of a social gadfly, confrontational and abrasive?

The truth is that he doesn't know.

"What is the Raleigh experience?" he asked. "Doesn't that depend a great deal on who you ask? Even if you ask a college student, are they a student at N.C. State or Shaw?"

Currently working on a degree in Cultural Anthropology at N.C. State, Mr. Chapman said he's using a similar approach to the poet laureate position.

"There is a huge difference in the experience of someone outside of the circle versus someone inside the circle," he said. "I want to begin by observing. I want to go to the dozens of communities that make up Raleigh and gradually enter those circles."

Look closer at Raleigh, he said, and you will find even more communities. And within those communities, you will find different interpretations of the same experience.

"Though my experience as someone who grew up here, hung out as a teenager along Glenwood and at North Hills, I have watched this place grow and evolve," he said. "I feel I have just a beginner's sample of what this place represents and means. My own experience is an amalgamation of all the spaces I've been involved with or have been invited to."

Mr. Chapman said that he also relishes the opportunity to hear and champion individual voices those communities may contain.

"In a big city, it's very easy for an individual voice to get lost," he said. "I hope I can elevate some of those voices that might have gone unnoticed. People have their own idea and perspective on what is art, what is art in relation to a city, and how it should be presented or experienced."

About the artist

A native of Fuquay-Varina and a graduate of Southeast Raleigh High School, Mr. Chapman has had a front-row seat to Raleigh's transformation this century. Having worked as a professional poet for the past decade, his writings have been presented by the North Carolina Museum of Art and the Black on Black Project; he was a finalist in a national team poetry slam; and spent three years as a fellow at the Watering Hole Writers' Retreat.

Initially fascinated by words in general, Mr. Chapman said he turned to poetry as a medium after discovering the power of a few lines of verse.

"I do a lot of fiction writing as well," he said, "But I find that poetry is a direct emotional message. I also like that it can be ambiguous and flexible. It allows things to flow more freely. I can talk about health and philosophy and travelling all at once. It offers that flexibility."

Mr. Chapman is also the co-founder of Capital Moments, a biweekly open mic at Transfer Co. He served twice as an artist-in-residence with Carolina Performing Arts and led Juneteenth workshops for youth summer camps in Henderson, Nevada. His work has also been featured in many of Raleigh's public spaces, including an installation at Gipson Play Plaza. He is currently designing concrete artwork for Raleigh's New Bern Avenue Bus Rapid Transit project. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, Mr. Chapman also works as a dental hygienist.