COA adjunct professor Christian Barter.COA adjunct professor Christian Barter.

Barter will serve in the honorary post throughout 2016, the centennial year of both Acadia and the National Park Service.

“We are grateful to Chris Barter for accepting the responsibilities of poet laureate,” said Mike Madell, Acadia’s acting superintendent. “He is not only a published poet of distinction, but also a respected work supervisor on the park’s professional trail crew.”

“Chris Barter’s poems and trails are works of art that provide us access and insight into Acadia National Park and the wonders of the natural world” David MacDonald, FOA.

David MacDonald, president and CEO of Friends of Acadia, said, “Chris Barter’s poems and trails are works of art that provide us access and insight into Acadia National Park and the wonders of the natural world. There is no better person to help Maine and the nation to celebrate Acadia and its 100-year history.”

Madell and MacDonald said the laureate’s duties may include composing poetry that celebrates the park, readings at select events in Maine and leading trail walks to discuss the influence of the natural scene on his poetry and how reading and writing poems have affected his trail building.

“It’s an honor to be chosen for this position,” said Barter, “My work includes natural themes, but also centers on personal relationships and other human interactions. I look forward to the year ahead.”

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