PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota State Poetry Society announced Monday that its first-choice nominee has been named by the Governor’s Office as the new South Dakota Poet Laureate.

Bruce Roseland was announced as the Poet Laureate.. He is a rancher and poet from Seneca, South Dakota. He has written seven books and has won the Will Rogers Medallion Award in poetry three times.

Roseland was a board member of the South Dakota State Poetry Society for 14 years and president of the society for eight years before he resigned to apply for the position of poet laureate.

‘’Bruce will be an excellent ambassador for poetry in South Dakota,’’ interim SDSPS president Dana Yost said. ‘’And it is good for the state to have a poet laureate — it’s an important position not only for poetry but culturally in the state.’’

Roseland’s term as Poet Laureate runs through June 30, 2027.