July 30, 1908

Rosa Zagnoni, whose family had moved from Bologna, Italy, to Brooklyn, New York, married Antonio Marinoni. The couple moved to Fayetteville (Washington County), where Antonio Marinoni was on the faculty and later became head of the Department of Romance Languages. Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni, a poet and prolific writer, worked tirelessly—through schools, women’s clubs, publications, and wherever she could—to promote appreciation of poetry and to encourage poets. She was named poet laureate of Arkansas by Governor Ben Laney and held the title until her death. Governor Winthrop Rockefeller proclaimed October 15, the date on which Poetry Day is observed, Rosa Zagnoni Marinoni Day.