"Katharine's literary achievements. . .are a tremendous asset as she helps bring poetry and the literary arts to the people of Utah," sais Huntsman in a statement. "We are grateful to Katharine for her representation of Utah's fine artists."

Coles, 47, succeeds former poet laureates Ken Brewer, who died of cancer in March, and David Lee, who served from 1997 to 2002. She will serve a five-year term, effective immediately.

The job carries no official duties, although poet laureates are expected to help expose Utahns to literature - and raise awareness of Utah's literary heritage - through public readings, workshops and other projects around the state.

Asked about her goals as poet laureate, Coles said she hopes to establish a program by which poems would appear at least weekly in newspapers, on radio and in other media outlets around the state. She also favors installing poems at TRAX light-rail stations.

"I want poetry to become an integral part of Utahn's daily lives," she said. "I think it's really important to the health of the republic."

Coles is the author of three collections of poems and two novels. Her fourth collection of poems, Fault, will be published by Red Hen Press in 2008. She teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Utah, where she has directed the creative writing program and the annual Utah Symposium in Science and Literature.