A first ever Massachusetts poet laureate will be selected sometime this year. Poetry "enriches the civic life of Massachusetts in innumerable ways," Governor Maura Healey wrote in an executive order announced this week.

Massachusetts was one of only three states without a poet laureate, according to the Library of Congress, joined by New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Massachusetts will soon have its first-ever poet laureate. Gov. Maura Healey this week signed an executive order creating the honorary position, which is intended to promote poetry and creative expression across the state and inspire the next generation of writers.

Prior to the announcement, Massachusetts was one of just three states, along with New Jersey and Pennsylvania, without a poet laureate.