Richmond, VA —  Mayor Danny Avula today announced the selection of Maurice “Moeflowz” Brown and Rosa Castellano as Richmond’s next Poet Laureates. Their laureateship will be the City’s third, succeeding Joanna Lee and Douglas Powell/Roscoe Burnems.  

“My Mayoral Action Plan focuses on being ‘a city that tells its stories and tells the truth about its past,’” said Mayor Danny Avula. “Storytelling is how we understand healing in this city and how we imagine new futures together. It’s the foundation of what drives our administration: the work of bringing communities together and doing the collective healing work our city and our society so deeply need. And the Poet Laureate program is vital to that work.”  

Richmond’s Poet Laureate program began in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Richmond’s arts communities. Since then, the program has reinforced the City of Richmond’s investment in local artists while bringing poets into the work of local government.  

The program’s third application cycle drew proposals from poets across the city. An initial selection committee of community partners and city staff—including representatives from Richmond Public Library and Richmond Public Schools—shaped the application process, reviewed initial applications, and submitted recommendations to the Mayor for a final selection.  

Mayor Danny Avula’s selection of both Dr. Brown and Ms. Castellano highlights the program’s goals of unifying Richmond’s diverse poetic traditions and expanding opportunities for residents to engage with poetry as readers, audience members, and even creators. Each poet steps into the Poet Laureate role with deep connections to Richmond and a long history of building community through poetry.  

Dr. Maurice “Moeflowz” Brown’s first poetry performance in Richmond was in the early 2000s at Tropical Soul while he was stationed at Fort Lee. Since then, he’s become a fixture in Richmond’s slam poetry and spoken word scenes. He is the founder of Ink & Barrel Inc., an organization dedicated to empowerment through poetry, and serves as Associate Director of The Writer’s Den RVA. In addition to his work in the arts, Dr. Brown teaches math at Virginia Commonwealth University. In his Poet Laureate application, Dr. Brown proposed an intergenerational citywide poetry and storytelling initiative, including a leadership conference, organizational showcase, and citywide workshop series.   

"The first time I saw Moe perform, I knew I was watching something special,” said Mayor Danny Avula. “Moe’s a dynamic speaker who invites an audience in and challenges them at the same time. He’s also a true teaching artist—his experiences educating and mentoring youth sets him up to make an enormous impact as a Poet Laureate.”  



“Richmond has the talent, history, and energy to position itself as a leader in Virginia’s arts scene,” Dr. Brown said. “Its future depends on connection, on collaboration, shared resources, and intentional cross-pollination. I see my role as helping facilitate those connections so the community can grow stronger together.” 

Rosa Castellano moved to Richmond in 2001 to pursue an MFA in poetry from VCU, and she and her family returned permanently to the city in 2018. She is perhaps best known as the co-founder of RVA Poetry Fest. Ms. Castellano is also the Writing Engagement Coordinator at the Visual Arts Center and the Literary Arts Director for Sundress Publications. Her writing has appeared in multiple publications, and her debut poetry collection is entitled All is the Telling. Her application proposed starting a Youth Poet Laureate program for the city to champion Richmond’s youth voices.  

“As anyone who has spent time at Poetry Fest can tell you, Rosa is just a powerhouse organizer who turns vision into reality,” said Mayor Danny Avula. “The range of voices and activities represented there is a testament to her dream of a city rich with creative expression. Her own beautiful writing is even more powerful because of the way she brings other writers and artists along with her.”  

“The future of poetry and quite possibly what’s next for all of us will likely involve some form of service, of caring for our neighbors and to do that, we need to see and know each other. Poetry is one powerful way that can happen,” said Ms. Castellano. “As Poet Laureate, I will continue working to support existing literary arts groups by creating infrastructure to make it easier for more people to find their literary homes.” 

Mayor Danny Avula announced the joint Poet Laureates at the Richmond Poetry Fest, which continues through Saturday evening. Dr. Brown and Ms. Castellano will each receive a $5,000 stipend annually through their tenure, along with $2,000 annually in support for their proposed program.  

For more on the Poet Laureate program and to follow the Laureates’ progress, visit go.rva.gov/poet-laureate. 

##