Who will it be?

It’s been narrowed to three. And the search goes on to make Orlando the home to a poet laureate we one day will see.

The search for Orlando’s first poet laureate was narrowed down to three award-winning finalists Thursday morning: Terry Ann Thaxton, Curtis X Meyer and Susan Lilley.

They were chosen by a seven-member panel of experts from among 49 applicants for the role, which Mayor Buddy Dyer has described as the city’s “official storyteller.” He is expected to select the winner next month, after interviewing the finalists. The competition is a partnership of the city, United Arts of Central Florida and Orlando-based independent publisher Burrow Press.

Thaxton, a creative writing professor at the University of Central Florida, won the 2017 T.S. Eliot Prize in Poetry. The panel praised her for her work with young people in the community.

Meyer is a Winter Park slam poet and the founding SlamMaster of the S.A.F.E! Words! Poetry! Slam! at The Milk Bar in Orlando’s Milk District. The committee cited his versatility as an artist as a plus.

Lilley, a past winner of the Rita Dove Poetry Award who teaches at Trinity Preparatory School and Rollins College, also was hailed by panelists for her work in and knowledge of the community.

All three received an average score of 27 points or greater from the committee on a 30-point scale, which considered the artistic merit of the candidates’ work samples, experience and background.

The contest was open to poets from Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia, Lake and Brevard counties. Orlando’s poet laureate will be appointed to a oneyear term by Dyer, who can approve up to two additional oneyear renewals before a new laureate is chosen.

The laureate will be expected to perform at as many as four city events and give as many as six presentations to local students per year. The job comes with a $3,000-per-year honorarium.

Dyer’s office said it was seeking someone with demonstrated achievement in the art of poetry, substantial publications and “significant” recognition or awards, as well as knowledge of the city’s history and expertise in public speaking.

The committee was chaired by Linda Landman Gonzalez, of the Florida Humanities Council and Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts boards. Other members included community representatives and English professors from UCF, Valencia College and Rollins College.

Landman Gonzalez said she was impressed by the field of applications: “how passionate they are, how this is … their life’s work and how important they are to the vitality of our community, from the arts standpoint and a storyteller standpoint.”

No date was set for Dyer’s announcement.

Orlando will join cities such as Tampa, Los Angeles, Houston, New York City and Washington, D.C., in having an official poet.