Literary Fridays at the library will continue into the new year at Cortez Public Library.

The library will welcome the newest poet laureate of San Miguel County, Elissa Dickson, on Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. at the library, 202 N. Park St., Cortez.

She will be performing some of her work at this event.

Dickson’s passion for poetry began at slam poetry in college.

In 2008, she moved to Telluride and attended Talking Gourd’s Poetry Club’s monthly readings.

It was through this experience that she became more serious about her writing and performing, according to a news release.

After more participation in the local poetry scene, San Miguel County Board of Commissioners named Dickson the fourth county poet laureate for a two-year term.

“It’s a cool way to spread the love of poetry in a slightly more formal way,” Dickson said in a news release. “Poetry can be a style of writing people are more unfamiliar with. It’s not on people’s radars the way novels are. The poet laureate position is a nice way to pick somebody every few years who can be the go-to person for spreading the passion of poetry and getting people excited.”

According to the news release, Dickson has a few duties as poet laureate. She decides which programs or activities she would like to promote.

Dickson has chosen to make an initiative to bring back poetry brothels, a monthly spoken-word performance event.

Dickson also wants to work with local students.

“Poetry can be a really great outlet for kids and teens,” Dickson said in a news release. “There are so many rules when you’re a teen, but writing poetry is totally open-ended. It’s a great way for kids and teens to talk about their feelings and what’s going on with no rules.”

Dickson is the adult programs specialist at the Wilkinson Public Library.

Literary Fridays at the library are a free monthly event at the library.