The Baltimore-based spoken word artist Brion Gill was named Monday as the 11th Poet Laureate of Maryland.

The 34-year-old Gill, who performs under the stage name “Lady Brion,” joins such previous holders of the four-year appointment as Grace Cavalieri, Michael Collier and Lucille Clifton, according to a news release from the Maryland State Arts Council. The post was established by the state legislature in 1959.

Gill, who also is executive director of the Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District, said that she was “humbled” by the opportunity “to pay homage” to Clifton, a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry who died in 2010.

“It is my mission to build on her legacy,” Gill said in the news release, “using the power of words to spark dialogue while fostering greater creativity, empathy and understanding across the state of Maryland.”

The award will be presented Wednesday night in a ceremony that will be attended by Maryland first lady Dawn Flythe Moore at Clifton House, a nonprofit in Baltimore that provides training in the arts to residents of underserved communities.

A graduate of Howard University, Gill earned a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Baltimore, according to a biography posted on her website.

In 2016, she won the National Poetry Slam, and in 2021 the Women of the World Poetry Slam. More recently, she performed at the inaugurations of Governor Wes Moore and Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman.

“Lady Brion has a gift for relating lived experiences in truthful and powerful ways,” Moore said.

“No doubt she will serve the state well and make the best use of this position to continue the important work of truth-telling and inspiring Marylanders through poetry and the spoken word.”

The Poet Laureate post is an unpaid position, though the recipient can recoup limited expenses. The poet laureate conducts public readings, ensuring that people in all geographic regions of Maryland have access to at least one reading during her four-year term.