Chelsea Rathburn

{{short description|American poet}}

Chelsea Rathburn (born Jacksonville, Florida) is an American poet.

Chelsea Rathburn was raised in Miami, Florida, and earned a bachelor's degree at Florida State University and an MFA in creative writing at the University of Arkansas. Her work has appeared in Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly,{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/chelsea-rathburn/|title=Chelsea Rathburn|first=Chelsea|last=Rathburn|date=|website=The Atlantic|accessdate=6 October 2018}} The New Criterion, Hudson Review, and Pleiades, and other journals. She works as a marketing writer{{cite web|url=http://www.pomeranceassociates.com/who-we-are/|title=Who we are « Pomerance and Associates|author=|date=|website=www.pomeranceassociates.com|accessdate=6 October 2018}} and an assistant professor of writing and English at Young Harris College. In recent years, she has also been elevated to the rank of director of the university's creative writing program, a significant rise in status and prestige at the university.{{cite web|url=http://chelsearathburn.com/about-chelsea-rathburn/|title=About Chelsea Rathburn – Chelsea Rathburn|author=|date=|website=chelsearathburn.com|accessdate=6 October 2018}} She lives in Young Harris, Georgia, with her husband, poet James Davis May, and their daughter.{{cite web|url=http://www.pw.org/content/chelsea_rathburn|title=Chelsea Rathburn|author=|date=|website=pw.org|accessdate=6 October 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://poetry.gatech.edu/poetbios.html |title=Current Poet Biographies |accessdate=2010-05-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301043533/http://poetry.gatech.edu/poetbios.html |archivedate=2010-03-01 }} While she is best known for her poetry, she is also notable for her nonfiction writing, including short- and long-form prose pieces, concerning her beliefs about home, views on class, and poverty. At present, she is perhaps most excited about her upcoming prose piece on the air traffic controllers' strike.{{cite web|url=http://chelsearathburn.com/prose/|title=Prose – Chelsea Rathburn|author=|date=|website=chelsearathburn.com|accessdate=6 October 2018}}

In March 2019, Rathburn was named poet laureate of the state of Georgia, succeeding Judson Mitcham.{{cite web|url=https://www.georgia.org/newsroom/press-releases/kemp-names-chelsea-rathburn-georgias-poet-laureate|title=Kemp Names Chelsea Rathburn as Georgia's Poet Laureate|author=|date=|website=georgia.org|accessdate=18 April 2019}}