Beckley Post-Herald
Roy Lee Harmon Named Poet-Laureate By Holt
March 12, 1937
Roy Lee Harmon, sports editor of the Beckley Post-Herald and one of West Virginia's leading poets for many years, was yesterday appointed Poet-Laureate of West Virginia by Governor Homer A. Holt.
Mr. Harmon has been in newspaper work in West Virginia for the past 18 years and has written for various magazines. He has written and syndicated a column for weekly papers entitled "Hillbilly Ballads" for the past seven years, discontinuing that column when he came to Beckley to accept a position as sports editor of the Beckley Post-Herald a few weeks ago.
He has contributed articles, short stories and verse to magazines. Among the magazines that have published his work are The Etude, musical magazine in Philadelphia; West Virginia Review, Hunter Trader and Trapper, an outdoor sports magazine and others.
Mr. Harmon is 36 years old and resides on Harper road. Twelve years ago he was a Beckley resident for a time, coming here to edit the Raleigh Register. His wife is the former Miss Dorothy Ball.
In addition to his newspaper and magazine work, Mr. Harmon has been an ardent outdoor sportsman, greatly interested in conservation. He was for a time sports editor of the Huntington Advertiser and later outdoor sports editor and conductor of a column which was a regular feature of the Herald-Advertiser in Huntington.
Mr. Harmon has written thousands of poems about West Virginia and her people. A book entitled "Hillbilly Ballads" has been completed and is expected to be published within a few months.
For the Post-Herald, Mr. Harmon covers local sporting events and writes a daily column entitled "Speaking of Sports."
When informed of his appointment last night Mr. Harmon said:
"I'm flattered, even flabbergasted - and more appreciative of this high honor than mere words can express."