Joseph Bathanti

Joseph Bathanti (born July 20, 1953, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American poet, novelist and professor. He was appointed by Bev Perdue, the governor of North Carolina as the seventh North Carolina Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014.

Biography Early life and education Bathanti was born July 20, 1953, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the East Liberty area of Pittsburgh. His grandparents were immigrants from Italy and France. His working-class family included a steelworker father and a seamstress mother.

Personal life Bathanti lives in Vilas, North Carolina, with his wife, Joan, and two children. Bathanti and his wife met while both were working with the VISTA program.

From 1985 to 1989, he worked closely with the North Carolina Visiting Artist Program which sought to bring talented artists from different disciplines to more rural towns and areas in the state.

He was installed as the seventh North Carolina Poet Laureate on September 20, 2012, at a ceremony in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Since his appointment, he has been a part of over 250 events around North Carolina. In 2014, Bathanti was named the first scholar-in-residence for the Heinz History Center's Italian American Program in Pittsburgh. Focusing on Italian American history, he will create a body of work developed from the center's Italian American Collection.

In 2024, Bathanti was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame.

Awards Bathanti has received many awards and honors including: The Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award (1995) Oscar Arnold Young Award – The North Carolina Poetry Council (1997) Linda Flowers Literary Award – NC Humanities Council (2002) Novello Literary Award (2006) The Spokane Prize – Eastern Washington University North Carolina Poet Laureate (2012–2014) Ragan-Rubin Award – North Carolina English Teachers Association (2012)