Lakewood resident, professor named Colorado Poet Laureate
Feb. 19, 2026 - For the first time in its more than 50-year existence, Lakewood is home to the state’s top poet. Crisosto Apache, a professor at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design in Lakewood and a longtime Lakewood resident, has been named Colorado’s Poet Laureate.
Colorado was one of the first states to have a poet laureate, naming the first one in 1919, and Apache is the state’s first Indigenous and 11th Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate represents and celebrates the breadth, history and experiences of a range of peoples who have called the region home. The Poet Laureate serves as an active advocate for poetry, literacy, literature, the arts and the humanities.
Originally from New Mexico near the Texas border and a member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, Professor Apache, who uses they/them pronouns, took something of a roundabout journey to this high honor. A visual artist on a scholarship majoring in two-dimensional design for painting at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, Apache took a couple of creative writing classes from Arthur Sze, now the sitting U.S. Poet Laureate and a professor emeritus, in their first semester at school. By the end of that semester, they had changed their major to creative writing and were hooked for life.
“That was in 1990 or so, and I’ve been doing creative writing ever since,” Apache said. “When I was younger, I wasn’t very successful at sending my work out and getting it accepted. But that didn’t deter me from continuing my writing.”
A scholarship to Naropa University in Boulder broadened Apache’s horizons and exposed them to other Native American writers and poets.
“I really appreciated my time there at Naropa,” Apache said. “I continued to write, to read and to build my poetic interest.”
Eventually, they were hired as an adjunct professor of English at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, and later in the same position at RMCAD. They currently serve as an associate professor of English.
When moving to the Front Range about 30 years ago, Apache said they were drawn to Lakewood for its ambience and recreational opportunities.
“What I love about Lakewood is that it does have that small town feel,” Apache said. “When I first moved here, I drove around the metro area to see what places were like. But when I drove through Lakewood, it has a very different setting than most of the metro. It’s very close to Golden, very close to the foothills. I like the open space that Lakewood has. There are a lot of hiking trails and a lot of outdoor activities.”
Apache loves Crown Hill Park, walking along Lakewood’s creeks and visiting William Hayden Park on Green Mountain.
Becoming the state Poet Laureate hadn’t ever crossed Apache’s mind. They were grading papers in late January when their phone rang and the caller ID showed “Jared Polis.”
“In the back of my mind, I thought it was a political call, looking for funds, you know? I didn’t answer it,” they said, “When I was done grading, I went to check my voicemail and sure enough it was there. This was about 5 o’clock in the evening, and I’m like, ‘This has got to be a joke.’ I don’t get calls like that, ever.”
They listened to the voice mail again a couple of hours later, and it finally sunk in.
“It’s not all the time you get a phone call with such an honorable appointment,” Apache said.
Apache plans to hit the road extensively during their term as poet laureate, with an emphasis on reaching out to youth – perhaps not surprising given their background in education.
“I want to reach across Colorado – high schools, junior high schools – and just start introducing poetry in the classroom, in community centers and youth organizations and after-school programs.”
This experience has already given them insight on what it means for others in the arts.
“When the announcement went out, the press that published my books got an influx of orders, and they sold out,” Apache said. “I didn’t anticipate this happening, so I just encourage people to be patient.”