Reception at NTU to celebrate Navajo Nation Poet Laureate Matthew Jake Skeets

By Nolan Bruno
Navajo Times

GALLUP

A special reception will soon take place in honor of one of the Navajo Nation’s most recognized writing talents.

On Thursday, Sept. 4, Navajo Technical University will host a private reception for the new Navajo Nation poet laureate, Matthew Jake Skeets, who will serve from 2025 through 2027.

The luncheon will celebrate Skeets’ literary achievements and his appointment as poet laureate. It also serves as a personal complement to the formal announcement made at the 2025 Shił Nahólne’: Literary Arts and Oral Stories Symposium, hosted by NTU in April.

Skeets, from Vanderwagen, New Mexico, gravitated to books early, especially at David Skeet Elementary, where he spent long stretches in the interactive library. His interest in poetry sharpened in high school with a classroom handout.

“I started writing poetry at Window Rock High School as a junior. I was given a packet of Native American poets. It was the first time I read famous poets like Luci Tapahonso and Joy Harjo. I was able to see this path for Native poetry,” Skeets said in an interview. He later earned a master’s in poetry from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.

Asked about a formative piece, he pointed to Luci Tapahonso’s “Hills Brothers Coffee.” “In the packet, it was one of the first poems I read. I believe some strange force brought me to this poem,” he said.

Skeets maintains close ties to his Diné culture. He is Tsi’naajinii and born for Tábąąhá. His maternal grandfather is Táchii’nii, and his paternal grandfather is Áshįįhí.

To read the full article, please see the Sept. 4, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.

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