Remembering Carol Bessent Hayman
Carol Bessent Hayman, Beaufort, North Carolina’s first poet laureate, passed away on May 27, 2017 at the age of 89. Carol’s long-time home at 618 Ann Street was the site of many joyous gatherings of poet friends for readings and singing. She was best known to members of the North Carolina Poetry Society as president of the North Carolina Poetry Council, many of us belonging to both organizations.
Carol Hayman was author of five poetry collections, hundreds of poems, prose and newspaper articles, and three greeting cards. She was a member of the Daughters of The American Revolution and was published in Ideals Magazine, Mature Living, Marriage and Family Living, Our State and other periodicals. A fifty-year member of the National League of Pen Women, she served on its national board. She also served on the Louisburg College Board of Trustees and, in 1978, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for outstanding literary achievement as a North Carolina poet and author. In 1962 Carol served as Poet-in-Residence at Louisburg College and is a past recipient of the President’s Medal Award given by that school.
Carol Hayman was a good friend to many of us in the North Carolina Poetry Society and will be missed by us all. In 2014 the Poetry Society re-titled its Poetry of Love competition in her honor as the Carol Bessent Hayman Poetry of Love Contest for its annual competitions.
A service for her was held on June 3 at the Ann Street United Methodist Church in Beaufort. Donations in her honor may be made to the Carol Bessent Hayman Scholarship, Louisburg College, North Carolina, or to the Ann Street United Methodist Church Music Program, Beaufort, North Carolina.
David T. Manning, June 1, 2017