Tina Cane is an American poet, author, and activist in Rhode Island. She was the Poet Laureate of Rhode Island until March 2024; originally she was appointed in 2016.

Early life

Cane was born in

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

. She earned a bachelor's degree in art at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, studied at the University of Paris X-Nanterre and the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

, and earned a master's degree in French literature from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

Career

After graduating, Cane was active in New York City's

Teachers & Writers Collaborative Teachers & Writers Collaborative is a New York City-based organization that sends writers and other artists into schools. It was founded in 1967 by a group of writers and educators, including Herbert Kohl (the group's founding director), June Jo ...

. Cane moved to Rhode Island in 2005. She founded Writers in the Schools in 2010, and remains the organization's Executive Director. Cane became Poet Laureate in 2016. As Poet Laureate Cane is responsible for coordinating and selecting the youth poet laureate or youth ambassadors for the state of Rhode Island. Cane has a regular column in the Providence Journal. In 2017, Cane launched a statewide Poetry in Motion program where poetry is featured on digital screens in

RIPTA The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) provides public transportation, primarily buses, in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The main hub of the RIPTA system is Kennedy Plaza, a large bus terminal in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. ...

buses. Cane also founded the Youth Poetry Ambassadors in 2017. Cane's work features current topics and is often written free form. Her poems have appeared in

The Literary Review ''The Literary Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1957. Publication was suspended in 2022, and the website notes: "Given the extenuating circumstances and the impact of Covid-19 on institutions of higher education, we do not ...

, Barrow Street,

The Cortland Review ''The Cortland Review'' is an online literary magazine established in 1997, publishing in 6 annual issues the work of prominent poets and writers in text, audio, and video. See also * List of literary magazines Below is a list of literary ...

and Tupelo Quarterly.

Works

* ''Body of Work'' (Veliz Books, 2019) * ''Once More With Feeling'', 2017 * ''Dear Elena: Letters for Elena Ferrante'' (Skillman Avenue Press, 2016) * ''The Fifth Thought'', 2008 * ''Are you Nobody Too?'' (Random House Books, 2024)

Awards and honors

* Fellowship Merit Award, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, 2016

References

External links

Writers-in-the-Schools
founded and directed by Tina Cane
Poetry Dose
a podcast about poetry hosted by Tina Cane and Atticus Allen {{DEFAULTSORT:Cane, Tina Poets laureate of Rhode Island Poets from Rhode Island Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Vermont alumni Middlebury College alumni