In a move that hopefully will be duplicated across the National Park System, a poet laureate has been named for Acadia National Park. The appointment, possibly the first in the National Park System, is not only a great way to mark Acadia's centennial this year, but a perfect fit for a national park, where the scenery pulls at the hearts of so many and is a source of inspiration.

Christian Barter, whose poetry revolves around natural themes, was chosen by officials from the park and Friends of Acadia, which is helping the park celebrate its own centennial as well as that of the National Park Service this year.

“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.”

Christian Barter, who supervises trail crews at Acadia National Park, has been named the park's first poet laureate/Ann Arbor

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 celebrate Acadia and its 100-year history.”

Madell and MacDonald said the laureate’s duties, which will run through the year, 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.”

At the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, board president Gibson Fay-LeBlanc called Barter's selection "an ideal choice."

“Few poets embody the place and spirit of Maine in general and of the park in particular in the way he does," said Fay-LeBlanc.

 Christian Barter’s first book, The Singers I Prefer, was a finalist for the Lenore Marshall Prize, Academy of American Poets; his second, In Someone Else’s House, from BkMk Press, was the 2014 winner of the Maine Literary Award for Poetry; a third volume is forthcoming from BOA Editions. His work has appeared in Ploughshares, Georgia Review, The American Scholar, Epoch, Friends of Acadia Journal (of which he served as poetry editor) and other magazines, and been featured on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, The PBS NewsHour, and The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor.

A graduate of Bates College in music composition, Barter also earned a Master's of Fine Arts in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. He held the Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University and was a fellow at Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony.

A former editor for The Beloit Poetry Journal and sometime teacher at College of the Atlantic, his primary occupation is as a work supervisor for the Acadia National Park Trail Crew.