Haymon is the author of four published collections of poetry, including her most recent work, Eldest Daughter (LSU Press 2013). She has received the Louisiana Literature Prize for poetry, the L.E. Phillabaum Poetry Award, and the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Poetry. She continues to teach poetry writing during the school year in Louisiana and, during the summer, directs a retreat center for writers and artists.

“Self Portrait in Prismacolored Pencil with Sky” features ekphrasis—detailed descriptions of a work of art as a literary device—inspired by a child’s self-portrait.

Stay tuned tomorrow, April 30, for the State Library of Louisiana’s tenth annual “Just Listen to Yourself: Louisiana’s Poet Laureate Presents Louisiana Poets,” closing out National Poetry Month. This year’s virtual edition will be hosted by current Poet Laureate John Warner Smith, with readings by Liz Adair, Katie Bickham, Kelly Harris, David Havird, Brad Richard, and Donney Rose.